Frost Along the Road
by moviedragon009
Summary: Two sisters find that paying a visit to some some old friends can have unintended consequences...such as a quest to destroy an ancient relic. The official, and highly requested, sequel to "The Hobbit and The Snow Queen"!
1. Chapter 1: An Unexpected Return

The snow glowed white on the mountain peaks across the fjord, an effect achieved through the soft light of the moon hanging in the sky above. But it didn't do so in total isolation, not in this kingdom of the north; flickering ribbons of brilliant hues of green and magenta softly danced against the dark, star-specked blue of the sky, granting a greater amount of light to those who happened to be wandering around at this time of night. In this case, that happened to be Anna, who quietly tip-toed barefoot down the castle halls in her night-gown, watching the lights shimmer through the window. Such astronomical displays filled her with energy, enough so that she couldn't be prevented from abandoning the comforts of her bed to try and shake it off.

On this night, Anna had in mind a certain place where she wanted to be at the moment, where she could watch the lights without hindrance. So, as not to wake anyone in particular, she strolled down the dark halls, wincing at the instances where her feet made contact with bare wooden floor. Having memorized all the little twists and turns in the passageways of the castle she called home, it didn't take her very long at all to find the right door, even in the faint light. Gently turning the brass knob and making sure the clicking of the inner mechanisms weren't too audible, she pulled aside the door and slipped her way through the gap. Relying on memory to guide her in the dark, she ascended the spiraling staircase up to its furthermost limit, where she opened another door and became immersed in the soft cool of a late summer's night, her feet stepping on to the cold weathered stone floor of the northwest tower. Her eyes went straight up towards the sky, and she drank in the iridescence of the northern lights while her feet stepped along as if on their own accord.

Going along two or three paces, Anna's attention remained fixed on the glowing bands of color. Watching them shimmering and wavering with more life than the waves of the ocean water in the fjord, she couldn't help but wonder; what magic from the dawn of time engineered such magnificence? She remembered hearing something about the Faerie War in the beginning, and wouldn't be surprised if something from that primordial time had something to do with it. What else but magic could create something so beautiful?

Almost out of nowhere, the brilliant white of a shooting star zipped across the color-filled sky, burning long enough for Anna to follow its path from one end of the fjord to the other. At first she raced to find a decent wish, but then such thoughts stopped—along with her heart—as she saw through her peripheral vision that she wasn't alone. Her sister, Elsa, stood a few paces away from her, leaning on the barrier with crossed arms in her own blue nightdress. Her pale skin and light blonde hair seemed to glow as much as the snow did in the moonlight. Her sky-blue eyes were directed towards the craggy mountains across the waters of the fjord instead of the light show going on above the two of them.

"Oh, hey!" Anna burst out in surprise, disturbing Elsa from her quiet meditation, "You're here! Not that you can't be here, or anything, y'know, who's to tell you what to do—I mean, I just didn't think you'd be here at this time of night…"

"Anna, what are you doing out here so late?" Elsa asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," Anna replied, "As for me, I just, uh…"

Before she could go on, Elsa simply smiled, and said, "Let me guess: the sky's awake, so you're awake?"

"Guilty," Anna admitted, "What about you?"

"Oh, nothing," Elsa replied, turning her gaze back towards the distant mountain slopes, "I just…couldn't sleep is all. Nothing to worry about."

"Oh yeah?" Anna asked. She walked over and took a place on Elsa's left side; the closer she got to her own sister, she could feel the air drop a little in temperature. But that was something she had gotten used to. What she hadn't gotten used to was how Elsa slightly jerked away from her, as if she was still afraid to touch her. Deep inside it hurt Anna slightly, but at least this wasn't a one-sided conversation with a closed door between them, like it used to be.

"Are you worried about that council meeting you got tomorrow?" she asked, hoping to start up a decent conversation, "Because I sure would be, because, well, holy cow, it sounds really important…"

"No Anna, that's not it."

"Was it a bad dream?"

"I told you, it's nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Aw, c'mon," Anna said, "Share!"

"Since when is what goes on in my head something you need to know about?" Elsa questioned.

"Well, I know if it was a good dream, then you wouldn't be out here," Anna explained, "And if it was just a mildly bad dream, you still wouldn't be out here. But since you're out here, well then, clearly it's a REALLY bad dream, and you could use someone to talk to about it, maybe do some psychoanalyzing, or whatever it's called."

"I don't think that's how it works," Elsa said.

"Oh c'mon, Elsa!" Anna pleaded, "Just tell me what's going on! I promise I won't share it with anyone else!" Seeing that Elsa remained resilient, Anna decided to pull in close, and use her secret weapon.

"No secrets," she said in a serious tone, "Remember?"

Those last words had the right effect on her older sister; she quivered, as if stung by an arrow. Then her shoulders loosened, as did her tongue.

"There are times when my dreams take me to a place I once called home," Elsa began, "Sometimes I dream about ancient forests, open fields, caverns darker than dark, and mountains taller than you can fathom. Sometimes I dream about graceful elves, stalwart dwarves, mysterious wizards, and valiant men. And sometimes I dream about sitting by the campfire, eating good food, and laughing along with the others out in the wild…"

"Sounds to me more like memories than dreams," Anna remarked.

Elsa nodded. "Do you realize that it's been eight months since I came home?" she asked, "And a whole year since I ran away?"

"Well, yeah, so does the whole kingdom," Anna said, "People are still calling it the 'Frozen Summer', Elsa."

"Yes, well," Elsa said, "I know from your end I was only gone for four months, but from my end I was gone for years, Anna. It feels like I left a whole life behind me…and I can still remember what happened in all that time. I can still remember them, Anna; Gandalf, Dwalin, Balin, Fili, Kili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Glóin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Thorin…"

"And Bilbo?"

"Yeah," Elsa said softly, "and Bilbo. Not to mention so many other people…"

"You miss them, don't you?"

"Yes…I just can't help but wonder what they're all doing with their lives now…the ones who survived, anyway. I wonder if they're okay…"

"Is that it?" Anna asked. "I'm sure they're all fine, wherever they are."

Elsa didn't seem convinced, however, as she kept her gaze on the mountains in the distance. Looking in the same direction, Anna remembered at that moment why she did; she remembered seeing her sister sprint across the fjord in her coronation ensemble towards those mountains, the water turning to ice the moment it touched her feet. She remembered standing near the water's edge, watching the newly crowned queen disappear into the trees, calling out her name and being restrained from following her at that time…

Had it really been a whole year since that fateful day? Even now, it seemed so far off.

She looked back at Elsa again. An idea formed in her head again…maybe this time it would work; as opposed to the other times she had popped the question.

"Well, if you're really so worried," she started, "then maybe, oh I dunno...a quick visit wouldn't hurt—"

Elsa's answer was swift and resolutely solid: "NO, Anna."

"Ugh," Anna groaned at the rebuttal. But she wouldn't be defeated so easily, "C'mon, Elsa! You got to go see a whole other WORLD! I just want to see it for myself, to see it for real!"

"Anna, it's too dangerous," Elsa said, standing upright and staring down at her with the sternness only an older sibling could wield.

"So there's a bunch of gremlins and monster dogs running around, so what?" Anna said, "What would I have to worry about when I've got you with me? Besides, it wouldn't be very long, we'd just drop by to say hi, and—"

"You don't understand," Elsa sighed, "…It's bigger than that. It would be too dangerous for both of us."

"This is coming from the girl who whipped up an army of ice soldiers," Anna said. "I saw that too, you know."

"My answer is still no," Elsa said. She then walked past Anna towards the tower door, saying, "I'm going back to bed. I suggest that you do the same. Good night."

Before Anna could say anything else in protest, the door shut behind her sister, and she was left alone in the night.

Blowing a puff of air through her loose hair, she turned back towards the night sky to watch the spectacle with noticeably less enthusiasm than before, mostly because of the frustration weighing her down. Foiled again, she thought bitterly, for the umpteenth time in a row…or something like that, she certainly hadn't been counting.

But in no way did it mean that she was about to give up. Far from it; Princess Anna was not one to be deterred so easily.

* * *

><p>Elsa walked quietly down the halls back to her room, though still unsure of whether or not she would be able to get any sleep. She had a suspicion that Anna would be up and about on this night, but she hadn't suspected that they would cross paths, let alone come to the same castle tower. Still, she felt glad to have at least someone to talk to at the time…though Elsa would have to admit that it wasn't easy. All that time speaking to Anna, and that streak of white in her otherwise reddish hair leered at her as a reminder of what she had done to her sister…after all these years, it still made her afraid to touch her. Even though Anna now knew about her powers, she wondered if she would ever be able to tell her the whole truth behind her hesitation…<p>

After what seemed like a long time, she finally reached the door to her room and slipped back inside. She flopped into the comfort of her blankets, but even their softness failed to drive away her troubling thoughts.

Elsa had long lost track of how often Anna asked her to take her to see Middle-Earth, but it had been that way ever since she had returned home and figured out how to undo the curse of the Frozen Summer. Consistently she refused the persistent query with her lips…but not with her heart. The grey wizard's warning was strong enough to keep her from touching the Star Gems again, but the desire to visit that world that she had been ready to call home remained within her. But even then there were other things that helped her resist the temptation, things that woke her up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and surrounded by frost of her own making.

You need to get some sleep tonight, Elsa, she told herself. Just relax, and let it go... hopefully she wouldn't have the nightmare of that flaming red eye and the haunting voice that accompanied it again tonight.

* * *

><p>Unmarred by passing clouds, the heat of a bright morning sun bore down on a town bustling with activity. Blue and white streamers were draped across cottage windowsills, while vendors were lined up on the streets selling clothes embroidered with winter scenes, toys carved in the shapes of snowmen, and other such novelties; the owner of a certain trading post and sauna had even come down from the mountains to offer half prices on his winter gear in anticipation of this day. Had a wanderer from a distant kingdom come to town on this day, he or she would surely think something had gone wrong with the mental state of the citizens. On the contrary; this was merely a sort of unofficial holiday held in remembrance of the 'Frozen Summer' the year before; granted, a great many of the people who remembered the event acknowledged that it had been a disaster, but admittedly the idea that it really had snowed in the heat of summer was quite a novel thing, and some of the more crafty merchants took advantage of that fact. No one, however, had asked permission of the Queen, so in perspective it was a rather minor folk celebration that had yet to bloom into a tourist attraction.<p>

Anna had already seen all the quiet preparation that had gone into this folk celebration during some time spent with Kristoff, and now, seeing it afar from one of the tower windows, couldn't help but wonder if Elsa was even aware of this, and if she was, what she would've thought of it. As far as she was concerned, Anna felt rather divided on the issue; on one hand, she couldn't help but giggle at the neat little trinkets and at how two small children tossed handfuls of flour into the air, claiming that it was snowing again. On the other hand, however, she still remembered how much colder it became with each and every passing day that Elsa was gone. She also remembered the look on Elsa's face when she saw what her unleashed powers had done as soon as they came within the city limits…

But that remained a rather minor concern of Anna's at the moment; perhaps one of the officials would bring it up at the council meeting, and that would settle the issue. For now, she had one single thing on her mind, a plan that she had labored over long into the night, and was anxious to put into motion.

She watched as Elsa greeted the high-ranking officials at the door, and also as all of them followed her into the courtroom, with the doors slamming shut behind them as the guards took their places on either side. Anna could tell that Elsa had made an effort to look as queen-like as possible; rather than wear the loose, shimmering blue dress that she herself had conjured personally, she resorted to clothing herself in a more traditional dress for the occasion. However, she insisted on keeping her hair in that long braid of hers with her bangs swept to the back as if blown by the wind, which Anna didn't mind very much.

However, as soon as that was finished with, and with the muffled banging of the gavel signaling the beginning of the meeting, Anna immediately made her way back up the stairs, careful not to draw too much attention to herself. She passed by roughly a dozen servants on the way there, and to Anna's own confusion, she felt anxiety build within her with each passing face the closer and closer she got to her destination. _Calm down, will you?_ She thought to herself, _No one knows about them except you and Elsa. And no one knows about this little operation except you._

After climbing up the stairs, she found the white door decorated with blue trapezoid-petal flowers that she had been looking for.

A flood of painful memories came over her; how many times had she come up to this door and knocked, expecting her sister to loosen up and play with her for just once in her young life? How many attempts at luring her out had she tried? Only now did she realize the reason for Elsa keeping her out of her room, and practically her life, for all these years; while at the very least it blessed Anna with understanding, it also filled her with some degree of despair. Even now that she was back and her little secret was public knowledge, Elsa still preferred to keep the door to her room shut.

Shaking away the recollection so it wouldn't distract her, Anna refocused herself on the mission at hand. From her pocket, she drew out a long, dark skeleton key, acquired from one of the guards with much persuasion, and placed it gently inside the keyhole.

"No more closed doors," she whispered.

To her satisfaction, the lock gave way, and the door swung open to let her inside, as well as let out a shock of cold air. Bracing herself against the chilly gust, Anna stepped in and almost immediately stared in awe at what greeted her. Of course the room possessed a bed, a dresser, and the usual things that a bedroom should have, but Elsa clearly went out of her way to personalize the place; much of it was ornamented with ice that might've been mistaken for glass fashioned into the most elegant of shapes along the walls, formed into a graceful table that sat in the middle with a frozen fountain on top, and numerous other things that she could only guess were Elsa's personal experiments into seeing what she was capable of. The sunlight coming in through the window gave the room a brilliant sense of life, reflected with beauty and serenity, and none of it melting away. It was almost like stepping into winter all over again…on that note, maybe Elsa wouldn't be entirely opposed to letting the common folk have a little winter celebration in summer, if not participate in it.

Rubbing her hands against her arms to generate warmth, Anna stepped further on inside, and asked herself in a quiet voice, "Now if I were Elsa, where would I hide a chest of glowing rocks?"

The first place she looked was underneath the bed, pulling away the blue covers to find…nothing. Not even a few old toys strewn about.

Perhaps that was too obvious.

Next, she tried the wardrobe. After leafing through the large collection of Elsa's other dresses (many of which had been gathering dust) and gowns, she still felt frustration at not finding what she came looking for.

Maybe that was too obvious as well. She would have to look even harder.

The next place she tried was Elsa's dresser, upon which sat a very large mirror. But something very nearly stopped her from searching the drawers: herself, or rather her own reflection in Elsa's mirror. She stared back at herself, standing in a place where she shouldn't be, and inside she felt as though she were weighed down by a millstone. It was an emotion she had felt more often than what was probably healthy for her, having come upon her the night that she pulled her sister's glove off demanding an answer, as well as so many other days in childhood when she questioned what crime she committed to drive Elsa to isolation…and now it came upon her here of all places.

What was she even doing here, rifling through Elsa's things like this? For so many years she had struggled for so long to gain her sister's trust, to rekindle the friendship they had as children, and now here she was undermining the very foundation it was built upon through trespassing…

It doesn't have to be like that, a voice within her said. What Elsa doesn't know won't hurt her. Besides, I could be right back home before she even notices.

With that, she continued, opening the very first drawer she came across—which was full of socks.

Wait a minute. The memory of the chest came back to her, and she vaguely remembered how long and wide it was. Would it really fit inside one of these drawers…?

"Hi, Anna!" a voice said cheerfully from behind her.

At the sound of it, Anna's heart nearly skipped a beat as she whirled around in surprise. Looking down, she saw Olaf standing in the open doorway, with his head tilted at an angle while the tiny snow cloud above him continued to drop snowflakes.

"Gah! Olaf," Anna half-yelped. "What are you—I mean, good morning! How are you, today?"

"I'm _wonderful_!" the little snowman replied.

"Why aren't you outside enjoying the summer?" Anna asked.

"I wanted to see what you were doing," Olaf answered, "…What _are _you doing, by the way? Isn't this Elsa's room?"

"Yes, it is," Anna said, "I was just looking for something…"

"Something special?" Olaf asked.

"Well, you know, I wouldn't say something especially _crucial_; I just wanted to get a quick look at it for curiosity's sake…"

"Is it something Elsa would miss?"

"…No, no, not really."

"You hesitated."

"What? No I didn't, I—you know what, never mind," she said. She started to get the feeling that this would lead to nowhere.

"Well," Olaf started as he wandered over to the window, "If it's something really special, I know that Elsa wouldn't keep here."

Then again, maybe it could, she decided.

"Really?" Anna asked.

"Yep; she's got a special place where she keeps stuff that must be really important," the snowman explained.

Wow, Anna thought, Elsa's a lot smarter than I give her credit for... and yet somehow Olaf knew where it was.

"How do you know about that?" she asked him.

"Oh, I just followed her to it," Olaf explained, "I don't think she saw me, though; not to brag, but I can be pretty sneaky, sometimes."

She had to give him that, definitely. She also wondered, however, if that 'special place' really did happen to be where the chest laid; it would make a lot of sense unless it turned out to be a secret collection of knick-knacks and dolls. Before she spoke again, however, she did feel that sinking feeling of guilt again at the thought of taking advantage of Olaf like this…

But was she really hurting anyone, though?

Olaf then asked, "Do you wanna see it?"

* * *

><p>Sitting as politely, quietly, regally, and rigidly as she had been trained to do as queen for years, Elsa felt restless upon the throne, looking down a long table with two rows of noblemen and women on either side. Over the course of forty-two minutes (a nearby grandfather clock revealed that information), she had sat there listening to both sides argue and debate over things like land settlements, tax deductions, etcetera, and while it was tempting to doze off and hope that they didn't notice, she knew too well that she was not there to look pretty. In fact, she had to listen intently to every little detail brought up by either side, for eventually they would look to her to see which side she supported, or at the very least made the stronger argument. After that, she would make her ultimate decision, and her word became law.<p>

Overall it was a fairly effective method of governing the kingdom. But her only problem with it was that, more often than she would've liked, both sides were so passionate about whatever they were arguing about that the debate would go on for hours at times; hence these council meetings didn't occur that often.

Fortunately for her, the current topic of whether or not to allow the legalization of bridge tolls was settled rather quickly, with her in favor of discontinuing the practice. With that, the spokesman for the meeting announced, "And now for the next item on the itinerary: it is proposed that the Kingdom of Arendelle form a political alliance with the City-State of Palace City and be formally inducted into the so-called 'Empire'. We will now begin the discussion."

Now this was a fairly crucial one that, were it not for the insistence of her advisors, Elsa might have been able to settle herself. Truth be told, the word 'empire' was a rather misleading term, and was merely a reference to its territorial expanse; in truth, it was more of a confederacy of independent kingdoms rather than a singular government, bound together by common ideologies and a pursuit of peace and coexistence as opposed to a barbaric land-grab as most so-called empires were. The neighboring kingdom of Corona, Elsa had been previously informed, had already accepted this invitation, and thus far nothing terrible had happened to them since then; in fact, word was that their citizens enjoyed many of the benefits that the people in Palace City were said to have. However, there was still some concern as to why such a union among kingdoms had to occur in the first place.

Elsa herself never paid a visit to Palace City in her life, nor had she met the High King; most of her years had been spent behind closed doors, or recently in another world entirely. However, from what she understood, the High King was a wise and benevolent being who ruled in fairness, but also a powerful warrior and a skilled mage, more so than any in the known kingdoms, close enough even to rival the Faeries. She also knew, however, that he wasn't even human…

Regardless, she made her mind up concerning the matter a long time ago. The only real question was whether or not her advisors and the other officials of the kingdom were open to such a proposal or not; it would be unwise of her to officially announce her decision without the support of the people of her own kingdom. So for now she simply half-listened to the arguments being tossed back and forth like vengeful darts. All she really needed to do was to wait for them to finish the debate and turn to her for her final verdict on the matter.

She allowed herself to relax a little bit, and her eyes began to wander from the discussion before her up towards the windows centered in the roof, towards the sunlight that shone through them. More so than any other time before now, she longed for the meeting to be done with. She longed to get outside and breathe in some fresh air. She longed to get back out in the open, to get on the road and follow it wherever it would lead her. She longed to see mountains taller than those she had ever seen, forests more ancient than anyone living knew, and cities full of people she had never met before. And she would do it all with her dearest friend by her side…

Something stole across one of the windows, quietly surprising her. Was it a bird that had flown outside? No, it was too big to be a bird…but whatever it was, it had vanished.

Strange…

Her eyes returned to the foreground; the ministers and officials were still discussing and debating, no change there. And yet, she couldn't help but feel that something was off...

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something slip into the shadows near the furthest corner from her. But when she looked in that direction, all she saw was an empty corner. Could it be a mere trick of the light?

The answer came sooner than she expected; for the span of an instant, she saw a figure cloaked in black and red, wearing clawed gloves and a large hood over its face, silently striding just behind the people on the furthest end of the table before it disappeared again, like a moth popping in and out of a spotlight.

She gripped the arm of her chair like a vise. How did no one else see that? The phantom had practically walked right behind one woman, fluttering a few strands of hair, and she didn't even notice! But what could she do? Did she dare try to point the phantom out? But if no one else noticed it, was it possible that she was the only one who did? What would it say about her if she tried to alert the others?

"Your majesty?" the spokesman said, "Are you alright?"

His voice shocked Elsa back into the moment. Only now did she see everyone looking expectantly in her direction. Looking down, she saw that the arm of her chair was coated in thick frost.

She inhaled deeply, calming herself, and in her mind she repeated the one mantra that had truly become her ally.

_Love will thaw. Love will thaw._

With that, the frost began to dissipate until it was all gone.

"Yes," she said, "I'm sorry about that…"

"Have you reached a decision, your majesty?" the minister asked.

"Hm? Oh, actually…" Elsa started. Then she glanced over to her left, and there, in a distant corner, she saw the phantom. He simply stood there without making a single movement. Underneath his hood, she could see the glimmer of a pair of eyes staring back at her. She stared right back at him with an icy glare.

What do you want? She said inside. Why are you here? Why can no one else see you?

Again, the phantom simply stood still. However, she noticed that he had slightly tilted his head at an angle. Her eyes darted in the direction he indicated, and she found herself looking at the doors. She looked back, and the phantom was gone again.

"Your majesty?" the minister asked again.

She returned her attention to him. "I…well, this is such a crucial decision for the kingdom," she said, "…I need some time to think it over. I call for a thirty-minute recess."

The minister nodded, and he made it so; everyone lifted themselves from off of their seats and started to stretch, a bittersweet mixture of relief from sitting for ages and disappointment at not hearing Elsa's declaration. Elsa, meanwhile, made a beeline for the door. Stepping through, she summoned the captain of the guard with some of his best men. Within a few moments, he, a tall brawny man with thick black sideburns, and several others arrived, curious about the matter.

"You called for us, milady?" the Captain asked.

"Yes, Captain," she affirmed, "Order your men to close the gates and guard every possible entrance; I don't want anyone coming in nor out of this castle. Keep watch over the ministers and officials as well. Do you understand?"

"Yes, milady," the Captain replied, "But may I ask what this is about? Is there an intruder?"

"Yes, Captain," she answered, "But I will deal with him myself."

Leaving the confused guards behind, Elsa moved down the hall, her eyes darting around for the trespasser. She became aware of her surroundings like she had never been before…not for a long time, anyway. Old instincts began to flare again; her hand gently waved around by her side, stirring up some cold air ready to strike with. But even then there was the crippling sensation of terror deep within her.

What are you? She wondered.

She came to the end of the hallway, where it took a left. Here, she became especially wary; corners were especially dangerous, being a perfect place to spring a trap. But she refused to be caught unawares. As a matter of fact, this presented a unique opportunity to turn the tables.

She took it without hesitation, sending a hurricane gale of ice and snow around the corner, and followed straight after it to see the results. The results, however, obviously wouldn't please the servants; aside from the snow and ice covering the area, much of the furniture were blown over, and several wall decorations where thrown off their places.

And to cap it all off, the phantom stood at the other end of the hall, clearly untouched.

The two stared at each other from their respective places. Elsa, expecting just about anything at this point, readied herself to use whatever winter attack would suit her best; whoever this person was, he had picked the wrong queen to mess with.

The seconds seemed to pass by as slowly as possible. Elsa kept her eyes locked on the phantom, watching for the smallest of movements that would betray an attack. The phantom, in turn, kept his face in her direction, but whether or not he was directly looking at her, she couldn't tell, given how his eyes were hidden.

Finally, the phantom made a motion. Elsa raised her hand to strike, only to realize that it wasn't out of hostility. Instead, the phantom merely waved his hand in a summoning motion, indicating that he wanted her to follow him. He then turned to the left, going down another hallway.

At first, Elsa felt confused. However, she didn't want to lose him, not this time.

_Fine, I'll play your little game_, she thought, _but where exactly are we going?_

* * *

><p>"Where exactly are we going?" Anna asked as she followed Olaf further and further down into the lower levels of the castle, the bright wallpapers colors of scarlet, gold, and violet being replaced with the dark grey of exposed rock and stone. The air steadily became chilling with every step they took, while light itself became scarce, forcing Anna to light a torch and bear it the rest of the way. She hadn't been down to the dungeons that often, nearly not at all, and now that she was down here, she wondered if it was possible that the castle foundations went deeper than she had ever imagined.<p>

"We're almost there," Olaf assured her, "You'll see."

_I hope you're right_, Anna thought. They walked past cells that hadn't seen an actual occupant for years, but they still filled her with no small amount of dread as they made their way to Olaf's destination. The wailing and shrieking of prisoners behind those doors filled Anna's imagination, no matter how much she wanted them out. She looked towards Olaf, and it relieved her to find that even he seemed somewhat nervous at the ominous surroundings; at least she wasn't alone in her dreading of the place. To his credit, though, he did put on a brave face.

Turning a corner, Olaf led her to another door, but it looked like this one didn't lead to a prisoner's cell. Anna came up to it and tried the handle, only to find it locked. Before she could retrieve the skeleton key, however, Olaf walked up, plucked his carrot nose from off of his face, and stuck the point of it inside the lock.

"Olaf, I don't think that's going to—" Anna started.

To her surprise, however, the door swung open, and Olaf proudly replaced the carrot back onto his nose.

"How did you learn to do that?" she asked.

"Well, you know," the snowman explained, "I needed to get away from Sven once, and I think it was Kristoff who said, 'Desperation is the mother of necessity…or something like that. Anyway, it's a long story."

Anna peered through the doorway to find a staircase that led straight down into utter blackness, and from what she could tell, it was even colder down there than up here.

More than likely, her sister had been hanging around here; that much was clear.

Clutching the torch tightly in her hand, she started down the stairway and into the dark, the light of the flames keeping the shadows at bay. Her foot did slip somewhat upon the stone, forcing her to calculate every step she took for her own safety (to her annoyance, the stairway lacked anything tantamount to a handrail to cling onto for dear life. Good gracious, didn't anyone believe in those things back then?).

At last, she found bottom of the stairway, where there stood yet another door in her path—curiously, however, this one lacked a lock. With Olaf following close behind, she pushed it open, and entered a round stone room, where there stood three more doors, these ones bearing locks.

Turning to Olaf, she asked, "So, which one of these doors leads me to the treasure?"

"Um…" Olaf groaned, "…I dunno. I only got so far."

At first, Anna felt slightly aggravated, but then she realized that this was no big deal. She could probably figure out the puzzle on her own. "Could you wait for me back upstairs, please?" she asked Olaf, "I won't be very long."

"Okay!" the snowman said cheerfully as he turned in the other direction, hopping up each step as he went.

Anna, meanwhile, turned back to the three doors before her. So the chest lay behind one of these three doors; did there happen to be a clue that she could follow? She could've simply just used her skeleton key on each one until she found the one with the chest inside, but no, she felt that would've taken up way more time than necessary. She racked her brain for a quick solution to the problem…then she decided that it would be best if she inspected each door up close to see if there was something to set one of them apart. She walked up to the door closest to her left, and examined it for any peculiar details, anything that stood out about it, but finding nothing. She then went over to the door across from her on the right, and again found nothing in particular to set it apart. Finally, she walked over to the door right in between them, and searched the surface for anything….

There was nothing. Frustrated again, Anna sighed and turned back to think things over…

…Right up until she realized that she had seen her own breath.

Wanting some confirmation, she ran back to the door and blew some more air. Its presence registered itself in a small puff of cloud.

If that wasn't a sign that Elsa hadn't spent a lot of time here, then Anna didn't know what was. She reached for the door handle, clasping her hand upon the chilled metal, and slowly turned it, surprised to find that it was unlocked; perhaps Elsa was counting on the locked entrance and the remote location of the place as protection. Anna then pulled, and once the door became ajar, frigid air swept through, sending a burst of shivers and goosebumps across her skin in spite of her sleeves. Braving the chill, she opened the door further, and stepped inside a small dark round room, where only a single light shone in from above.

To Anna's great joy and satisfaction, the light illuminated the chest as it sat squarely upon a stone pedestal. It was just as she remembered it from eight months ago; small, wooden and braced with iron decorated by curious-looking runes.

To her great disappointment, however, it also sat with a cage made of latticework ice.

Yeesh, could Elsa be a stinker, making everything more and more difficult for her. The answer to this problem was simple enough; Anna held a lit torch, so why not use that to melt the ice. But perhaps that would take far too long for her plan to work…

Wait a minute, she thought.

What in the world was she doing? If Elsa was so determined to keep these Star Gems out of Anna's reach, then maybe she meant everything she said about there being something more dangerous than she could imagine? After all, she had endured years and years trying to keep her winter powers a secret, and look what happened when Anna forced her to reveal them! And now here she stood, having taken advantage of an innocent snowman and her sister's regal duties to knick some glowing gems so she could go world hopping.

At that moment, Anna felt sick from her head to her toes. How could she betray Elsa like this, her own sister?

And yet, there was still that tantalizing allure…

No, she couldn't go through with it. This couldn't be the means to her end. She decided right then and there that she would walk right out of here, lock the doors on her way out, go back to her room, and go on with her life pretending that this treachery of Elsa's trust never happened at all…

"Anna!"

Anna whipped around to see Elsa standing in the doorway, appearing shaken and confused at the sight of her down here. Her own heart chilled within her at the shock of being discovered. Never before had she felt so scared of her own sister than she did at this moment.

"What are you doing?" Elsa asked, but the serious tone of her voice indicated that she knew too well what Anna had been attempting.

At first, she didn't know what to say. Shame and grief weighed down her tongue too strongly for her to be able to form words to express her regret. But words did come out. "Elsa, I—I thought you were—"

"At the council meeting? Yeah, I was," Elsa said, "But then we took a break. Anna, are you so single-minded as to go sneaking around behind my back like this? I've told you time and time again that neither of us is going back there! I can't believe you even got Olaf involved in this."

"I know, I know," Anna said, "I'm so sorry, it's just that—I was just so jealous of how you got to go on such a cool adventure, and I wanted to see everything that you-hey, how'd you even know I'd be down here, anyway?"

"I didn't," Elsa started, "I was following someone else, and then I found Olaf and…" but then she stopped midsentence. Her eyes widened, and she turned about wildly, looking for something in the dark. "Of course," she whispered, "Secluded, no other witnesses…This is the perfect place to pull it off…"

"The perfect place to pull _what_ off?" Anna asked.

Elsa didn't reply. Her eyes zipped back and forth desperately as she stepped backward. Her hand caught on the stone of the doorway, and Anna saw harsh frost spread like fire from where she touched.

"Elsa," Anna asked, "What's going on?"

Suddenly, her sister jumped forward and latched onto her arm. "We've got to get out of here!" she said as she pulled her through the open doorway with surprising strength.

"Hey, HEY!" Anna yelled as Elsa pulled her through the previous rooms toward the exit, "Elsa, Tell me what's happening!"

Before they reached it, the door slammed shut of its own accord, sending a shuddering THUD echoing through the chamber, followed by the sound of small clicks within the mechanism of the lock. The two sisters stopped in their tracks at the sudden hindrance to their escape; Elsa let go of Anna's arm, and spread her arms out, chilled air and snow flowing around her hands. "Get behind me, Anna," she instructed.

"But Elsa—" Anna started to protest.

"JUST DO WHAT I SAY," Elsa declared. Subdued, Anna complied, though she still had no idea what frightened Elsa so much. Still clutching the torch, she held it aloft, trying to see whatever it was that laid in the shadows. Unfortunately, that was all she could see: shadows, dancing along the stony brick wall in the glow of the firelight.

One of the shadows jumped out of the wall, leaping towards the two of them while wielding a sword.

Anna shrieked in fright at the attacker and shut her eyes at the impending doom.

CLASH!

Hearing the strange sound, she looked up to see Elsa standing before her, pushing back the blade of the black and red phantom with her own sword, a long narrow rapier made of pure ice with a hilt that made her think of pure, flowing water frozen around Elsa's hand.

"Anna, get back!" Elsa shouted again.

Anna jumped away from the fight just in time, dropping the torch onto the floor and backing herself against the wall while the Phantom pulled back his sword and came at Elsa again. THWACK! CLASH! FHWASHING! The two weapons sang a shrill song of imminent doom as they collided time and time again. Anna watched this deadly dance with awe, surprised to see how skilled Elsa was in combat; she was like a winter whirlwind, swift, elegant, and cold at the same time, dodging and repelling the bloodthirsty edge of the Phantom's armament, all of it mirrored by the quivering shadows on the wall.

"I see that sword-fight training's paid off!" Anna shouted from the sidelines.

"Thank you!" Elsa said between blade collisions, "I've been practicing."

As if to back up her claim, she pushed forward against the Phantom, and, with a flick of her wrist in a single fluid motion, succeeded in sending the Phantom's sword flying against the room, while directing the point of her own towards his throat.

However, the Phantom leaped several feet backwards, his back against the main door. At first it seemed as though he planned to make an escape, but then FWOOSH! An orange ball of fire burst from his hands and rushed towards Elsa, who let her sword fall to the ground and raised a thick wall of ice in response. Instead of dissipating into smoke, the spinning fireball kept pushing its way through the barrier, forcing Elsa to generate more ice to prevent it. But even then, its heat consistently ate through the ice; seeing it was a futile effort, Elsa leaped out of the way as it punched through and collided with the door to the chest-room, knocking it off of its hinges and sending it in backwards with a crash.

The Phantom then sprinted towards the disarmed Elsa, who launched bolt after bolt of ice and snow at him. But the Phantom dodged every attack with bewildering agility. She in turn jumped to the other side as he swiped at her, the iron claws on his gloves grazing the air just a few inches away from her face. She cast another bolt of ice at the ground beneath his feet, but he jumped straight up into the air, whirled around, and swung his foot into her, knocking her into the treasure-room where he soon followed after landing back onto the floor. The sounds of a struggle came quickly after that.

"Elsa!" Anna shouted. Hopping back onto her feet, she retrieved the torch from the floor and rushed into the treasure room. As she entered, the firelight illuminated broken, smoldering, and altogether shattered remains of what used to be the door lying in pieces across where the pedestal used to be, and to her right, Elsa and the Phantom locked in combat; the Phantom had Elsa pinned against the wall, his clawed hands grasping forward as a stream of fire erupted from his palms. But they were repelled, as it were, by the icy blue beam of winter that shimmered from Elsa's. Fire and ice were both attempting to overpower each other, but thus far it had been drawn into a stalemate.

"Get away from my sister!" Anna shouted, raising the torch like a club as she ran towards the enemy. But just as she was within striking distance, she felt herself thrown back to the other side of the chamber by some unseen force. Her spine was the first thing to hit the stone, knocking the wind out of her and briefly paralyzing her with a burst of pain that rushed through her body with the impact. She slumped to the floor, groaning as she struggled to overcome the sting. The torch, meanwhile, fell to the ground yet again, its flame lighting some of the door splinters on fire.

But then, through the corner of her eye, Anna saw something beneath the broken slabs of wood…something that glowed with a white light. She hauled herself forward, and pulled away the wood; there laid the chest sitting amongst the smashed fragments of its icy cage, still intact…save for the small hole in the side through which several glowing white gems had tumbled through. In their facets, Anna saw things that she couldn't have imagined in her wildest dreams; titanic beasts clashing amongst towers of stone and glass, a man dressed in red and blue soaring through the skies, and even a vast desert of sand where she saw a man made out of gold with glowing eyes followed by a cylindrical looking creature colored blue and white with a single red eye…

Looking back up, she saw Elsa and the Phantom still locked together, trying to overcome the other…but Elsa seemed to be slipping, her strength giving way to the Phantom's cruel determination.

She looked back down at the Star Gems before her.

She looked back up again, and this time with an idea formulating in her mind.

She grabbed one of the Star Gems, careful not to grasp it too tightly. Ignoring the pain in her back, she got up onto her feet again, and shouted, "Hey, tall, dark and hostile! CATCH!"

With that, Anna lobbed it towards the Phantom, watching it as it sailed like a shooting star through the dark room. Distracted, the Phantom glanced over in her direction and saw the flying gem.

Please catch it, Anna prayed within her, please catch it and wind up somewhere far, FAR away…

Then Elsa looked over as well, her eyes opening up to their widest as she saw what happened.

"ANNA, NO!" Elsa shouted. She pushed back the Phantom with a powerful blasting surge of ice and wind, throwing him against the wall.

In the fastest of movements, her arm moved forward, and the Star Gem wound up in the clutches of her own hand.

Through her fingers, the jewel began to glow brighter and brighter, filling the room with light.

No, no, no! This wasn't supposed to happen! "Elsa!" Anna shouted, "Let it go!"

But it seemed as if her sister couldn't hear her; she seemed too entranced by what she personally saw in the facets. What looked like shards of glass materialized and began to whirl around her in the air.

Immediately she recognized what was happening. With that thought, only one thing resounded in Anna's mind:

Never again.

The pain of being thrown against a wall tossed aside, she charged forward, pushed through the floating shards, and clasped her arms around her sister. Somehow, she felt herself lifting off the ground, levitating in midair. But that hardly mattered to her.

_I am NOT losing you again, Elsa_, she thought. _Neve_r again.

The shards began to swirl faster and faster around them.

Suddenly the black form of the Phantom jumped through, and latched his hand onto Elsa's arm. Anna screamed and tried to kick him away, but to no avail as the room dissolved away while the glass pieces whirled around them with increasing speed. Though she struggled against the adversary, the commotion became too much for her, and she closed her eyes, terrified as she waited for wherever it was that awaited the three of them…

Sooner than she anticipated, the winds died away. Anna suddenly found herself flung through the air, having lost her grip on Elsa. She felt the impact very strongly as she rolled around in…grass. Soft, green grass, as a matter of fact…it was a nice alternative to being thrown against a stone wall, she had to give it that.

Carefully, she opened her eyes, and discovered a forest of tall, strong trees enjoying the gentle warmth of a bright spring day, with birds twittering in the branches like no one's business and a soft wind rushing along its way, rustling the grass as it went by. At first, Anna wondered why they had wound up outside in the castle grounds…but then she failed to recognize any of the trees as being from the castle gardens, nor, as she looked around, was there any sign of the castle in sight. The question, however, still remained; where exactly had she wound up?

Through the corner of her eye, she saw something glowing through the long blades of grass. Parting the foliage aside, she found the Star Gem lying in the dirt; it probably flew out from Elsa's hand when they had landed. Thinking very quickly and moving very fast, she pulled out a small bag of maroon velvet from her pocket that she had taken with her to hide it in originally, and scooped up the Star Gem with it, closing tight the opening with a golden string and placing it back in her pocket. Patting the precious jewel in her pocket, she stood back up on her feet and began to have a look around.

"Elsa?" she called out, "Elsa, where are you?"

A sudden burst of cold flushed forth to her right; she turned and saw as the Phantom was pinned against the trunk of a large tree by dozens of very large, thick icicles erupting from the ground. Several inched dangerously close to his neck. Even then, however, his face was still hidden from view by that hood of his.

Elsa followed close behind, holding her hands out as if the icicles were connected to her hands; Anna knew that should the Phantom make one wrong move, it only took one flick of a finger to send just one of those icicles plunging straight into his neck. Escape failed to be an option for this would-be-killer.

"Who sent you to assassinate me, and why?" Elsa demanded in a strong, powerful voice tempered by indignation.

The Phantom spoke not a word as he hung there.

"SPEAK!" Elsa shouted. She walked straight up to him and reached for his hood, saying, "You have nowhere to run. Confess, and I may just spare your life."

She grabbed the hood and yanked it away to reveal the killer's face—instead, all she found was a crumbling mound of ash and dust.

Leaping back in shock, the two sisters watched as any life disappeared in an instant, and the Phantom's body hung limp, suspended like a scarecrow by the points of the icicles. Ash and dust spilled out from his black clothing onto the grass like sand in soft torrents.

A long time passed before either of the sisters spoke again, too shaken by what they had seen.

"So…" Anna started, "What was he—or it, rather?"

"I think it was a homunculus," Elsa whispered, "I've only heard of them, but I didn't think I'd ever see one."

"A what?"

"It's a magical construct," Elsa explained, "An imitation of human life; it was never alive to begin with. It's a very ancient form of magic, and only the most powerful of sorcerers are able to conjure such things…"

"Yeah, but you made Olaf," Anna said, "And he's alive for real! Wouldn't that make you…"

Elsa, however, seemed to tune out her words, walking away from her as she gazed around the forest. Suddenly she turned to glare straight at Anna again. "Why did you DO THAT, Anna?" she half-yelled.

"What, you mean save your life?" Anna asked, "I was trying to make it so that he'd wind up somewhere, anywhere!"

"Exactly! You could've put an entire world in danger that way!"

"Well, I _didn't_!" Anna argued, "Where are we anyway?"

"How should I know?"

"Well, you grabbed the Star Gem! You had to have had someplace in mind! Isn't that how it works?"

"Yeah, well, I haven't the slightest idea where we…" but then she stopped again. She gazed around the place, and Anna could see in her eyes some glimmer of recognition. "Wait…do you feel that?" she asked.

"Feel what?"

"This place…it's brimming with magic," Elsa said softly.

Just then, Anna heard something in the distance; the sound of creaking wheels, tromping feet, and laughter of both young and old. "Hey, do you hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what?"

"I don't know…it sounds like there's a village, nearby! Maybe we can get some information, there!" She then ran off towards the direction of the sounds, in spite of Elsa's protest. Following it carefully, she pushed her way through dense brush and branches, the noises becoming more and more audible as she went. At last, she came across the border of the woods; pulling aside some branches, she looked to see an open countryside, trees dotting the landscape and a clear river flowing through rolling green hills…hills with chimney stacks on their uppermost ridge and round doors, windows, and flower gardens at their base. That was strange…but not nearly as strange as what she saw running around on the paths that wound past the individual hills. At first, Anna thought she was looking at a multitude of very small children, but even from this distance she could see that, in spite of their height, many of the people were clearly too old to be children as they went about sweeping dust off the pathways, leading cattle twice their size down the road, and other chores. There did seem to be at least a few youngsters among them, but they were absolutely tiny, barely reaching up to her kneecap from what she could tell. All of them, however, ran around on broad, bare feet covered in curly hair.

It was all just so adorable!

"Elsa," she called out, "Come over here! You've got to see this! It's so cute!"

Sooner than she had expected, Elsa came over to her side and gazed upon the scene with her. Rather than being overcome by the charm of it all, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped in terror. She staggered back, and the air began to chill around her.

"Elsa, what's wrong?" Anna asked.

"It can't be…" Elsa whispered, "…I'm back. I'm back in Middle-Earth!"


	2. Chapter 2: Teatime for Three

No words were exchanged between the two sisters for several long moments; Elsa simply stood with her back against the trunk of a tree while she heaved air into her lungs back and forth. Anna, however, simply let her jaw drop open as the news fully registered in her mind. The rest of the world, meanwhile, went about its business.

Anna broke the silence first. "…Middle-Earth?" she said, "As in THE Middle-Earth?! With the wizards and dwarves and elves and dragons and—omigosh omigosh omigosh, this is AMAZING! I never thought that-I mean, you know, this is such a big deal for me, because obviously I've never been to another world but now—here I am, here you are, here we both are!" She then gasped and continued, "We have GOT to see it all, now! But where are we gonna go first? It's just so hard to choose! Ooh, I know, we've GOT to see where the—"

"We've got to go back," Elsa said as she stood back up straight again, "Right NOW."

"WHAT? But we just got here!" Anna protested.

"And the sooner we get back home, the better," Elsa declared. She walked very quickly back through the bushes to the spot where they landed, scanning the grass around her for something with the intensity of a hawk desperate for a bite of mouse-flesh. Anna quickly figured out what it was she was looking for, and her hand grazed the side of her swollen pocket gingerly as she followed after her back into the clearing.

"Look, Elsa, it's alright," she said, "I'm pretty you haven't set off another Frozen Summer in Arendelle, so there's no rush to get back—"

"It's not_ that _that I'm worried about_,_" Elsa said, pulling back branches and brush, never taking her eyes off of the ground, "Our mere presence here is putting everyone here and back home in terrible danger."

"Danger? What kind of danger? How are we putting anyone in any danger by just being somewhere?" Anna asked.

"You wouldn't understand," Elsa said.

"At least give me a chance! We're here now, so you might as well tell me what you're so afraid of, because I'm pretty sure it's not anything to do with your powers!"

Halting in her tracks, Elsa gave out a deep, regretful sigh. She turned to Anna and said, "Just before I came home, I was told that there were forces at work within this world, more evil and dangerous than you or I could imagine. If someone aligned with such forces found out about us, where we came from, and how we got here, then they'd try to find the Star Gems, and use them to get to our world, and probably others as well. That's why Gandalf had me take the Star Gems back to Arendelle; that way, no one here would use them for evil. You have no idea what kind of damage they could do in other worlds."

"Oh, well _that's_ easy," Anna replied, "We just don't tell the bad guys where we're from!"

"I'm not taking any risks, Anna," Elsa declared, "Now, help me find the Star Gem so we can get back home before anyone notices we're gone."

"It's okay, I've got it right here," Anna said. She pulled out the velvet bag from her pocket and dangled it in the air. "See?"

Once she turned around to see it, Elsa rushed forward to snatch it out from Anna's hand. Anna, however, proved to be the faster of the two, yanking the prize out of her reach and keeping it there, regardless of how many times her sister made the attempt by nearly clambering over her.

"Anna, give it back!" Elsa protested, "We can't stay here; we have to—"

"Then why are we here?" Anna questioned.

"What?"

"If we're not supposed to be here to begin with, why are we here?" Anna asked. "You know how it works better than I do."

Backing away and drawing back her hand slowly, Elsa gazed at her suspiciously. "What are you saying?" she asked.

"You know what I'm saying," Anna said, "It's pretty obvious; you _wanted _to be here, Elsa. You missed Middle-Earth so much, you wanted to come back. You said so yourself that you wanted to see your friends again."

"Not like this!" Elsa said.

"I'm not saying we have to be stuck here _forever._ Just hear me out, Elsa," Anna said. "Look, those little people back there, they were….?"

"Hobbits," Elsa answered, "They were all hobbits."

"Okay then, so that means we're in the Shire, right?"

"How would you know about—?"

"I was in your head a couple of times, remember? Anyway, so that means that Bilbo Baggins lives around here, right?"

Elsa became quiet for a moment while she averted her eyes away, but obviously her whole expression had become softened by the very mention of Bilbo's name. Anna hadn't expected this; she knew from the memories she had seen while trying to contact Elsa that the two had been friends, but this suggested something deeper than she had initially suspected…

"He spoke of being from here," Elsa answered, "Yes."

"Well then, why don't we just stop by his house for a while?" Anna proposed, "Like I was saying last night; we'd drop by really quick, have some small talk, you two can catch up over some tea—unless he doesn't have that or you prefer something else, but that's beside the point—and then we'd be back in Arendelle before sunset! Or not, but that depends on how long it takes for you to finish a conversation—but my point still stands!"

Instead of shooting back a sharp refusal, Elsa took a small step backward, anxiety furrowing into her brow and littering the foliage around them with small snowflakes. "I don't know, Anna," she said softly, the hesitancy in her voice all too obvious, "I don't think that he'd…I mean, it's been so long, I don't know if he even…"

Before she could say anymore, Anna replaced the bag back into her pocket and clasped Elsa's hands in her own. "I don't think he cares how long you've been gone," she said, "I think he'd just be happy to see you—no, I _know _he'd be happy to see you… I know I was."

The air slightly warmed as Elsa looked up into her eyes again, but that same hesitancy still lingered in her face.

"I promise," Anna added, "That once we're done here, I'll give the gem back, we can go home, and I'll never bother you about coming back here, or anywhere else not in our world. Deal?"

Once again, silence pervaded for a moment or two while Elsa quietly deliberated over the matter. Before Anna was ready for it, Elsa spoke again.

"Anna…Do you think I'm, you know, over-dressed for the occasion?" she asked.

"You look _fine_, Elsa," Anna assured her.

"Still," Elsa said, sliding her hands out of Anna's, "I can't exactly parade around in this, can I?" With a wave of her hands, a hooded cloak of royal blue shimmered into being; Anna watched in awe as tiny threads and plates of ice ducked and weaved around each other creating layer after layer until they tightened around each other, and the resulting cloak wrapped itself around Elsa's lithe form.

"How do you _do_ that?" she asked.

"Like I do everything," Elsa replied as she pulled up the hood, "Very carefully. Now come on, and try not to draw any attention."

"Yes, ma'am," Anna replied, following along after her. Once Elsa took the lead, Anna jumped and grinned like a little girl. She positively couldn't believe her luck; she had always wanted to meet the brave little hobbit in person rather than see him through someone else's eyes, and it was a fair enough compromise to seeing the whole of Middle-Earth.

A quick moment of clarity struck her at that moment. "Oh, Elsa," she said, "You did get rid of the icicles back there, right?"

"Of course I did."

"Oh, thank goodness."

* * *

><p>Breaking out of the forest brush and stepping into the warmth of sunlight the two women wandered through knee-high grass until they found a dirt path well-worn by years of footsteps, hoof-beats and cartwheels, which they immediately followed into the village of hills and mounds made into houses. As they went their way, Elsa's vision panned across the landscape back and forth, never staying on one scene for long; as a child, she had never been allowed to run outside of the castle grounds, and as a result had never even seen farming before. Now she watched as hobbit farmers directed their plough-pulling cattle across dirt plots, hobbit workers plucking away in vegetable patches with various tools, and so forth. It struck her as utterly fascinating, all of it; what she wouldn't have given to be able to get dirt under her fingernails and see what it was like to spend a day sweating in the fields…she looked over at Anna, and was hardly surprised to see her gazing around at the sight in a similar manner of fascination, and gave little smiles and waves to the tiny hobbitlings they passed by.<p>

The deeper into the limits of the town they went, the two of them crossed the paths of more hobbits of every kind. The good majority of their outfits were decked in bright colors, mainly consisting of green and yellow, as they went about their day buying goods from vendors, herding similarly sized sheep and cattle along, and other things. Along the side, they saw as some carried large barrels along, played board games, and a good number sat by the side of the road puffing large clouds with the help of long, narrow smoking pipes. It was all just like how Bilbo had described it to her so long ago, perhaps even a little better; she remembered his offer to come here with him as well, and now that she saw the Shire with her own eyes, she imagined what it would've been like to live out the rest of her days in the comfort of these rolling hills, as far away as possible from the despair of her youth…it certainly would've been a welcome alternative to the cave she had lived in last time.

However, she did notice that there were a lot of suspicious looks cast their way; here or there a hobbit mother would restrain her children and speak in hushed voices towards them, while a few elder hobbits would squint while puffing away at their pipes. She wondered, why were they acting this way?  
>To her surprise, Anna answered that question in a lowered voice. "I guess they aren't used to people of our…stature, huh?"<p>

Of course, that had to be it. Now she could imagine how Bilbo felt all that time, surrounded by people of a different height.

"By the way," Anna asked as they came upon a curving path in front of a small, humble hobbit hole, "Do you know where we're going? Where exactly _is _Bag End?"

"Oh, um…" Elsa said, trying to bide some time, "…I'm pretty sure it's somewhere around—"

"You don't know, do you?" Anna said.

"No, no I don't," Elsa admitted.

"Well, that's okay," Anna said, "We can just ask…that guy for directions!"

Before Elsa could stop her, Anna came up to the fence of the hobbit hole before them. There knelt a stocky hobbit with wavy blonde hair and hazel eyes, reminding Elsa of Kristoff in a strange way. Dressed in soil-dusted clothing, he stooped over a row of vegetables, with a trowel in hand.

"Excuse me, sir?" Anna said, leaning over the small fence, "Can you help us out?"

The hobbit looked up, surprised to see the two women, but thankfully not in a hostile way. "Yes, ma'am?" he asked. His accent, Elsa noticed, was rougher and less refined than Bilbo's had been—which wasn't too surprising, considering his obvious status.

"Hi, we're looking for Mr. Baggins," Anna asked, "Do you know where he is?"

"Of course I do," he answered, "I'm his gardener…what do you want with Mister Baggins?"

"We're just stopping to say hi—of course we're obviously going to say a lot more, I mean, we're pretty close—well, not _me, _I mean, _she's _close to him, but I'm sure he and I could be friends, but nothing serious, I've got a boyfriend after all and —wait, where was I going with this?"

Elsa stepped in to salvage the situation as best she could. "We're old friends of his from beyond these borders," she said, "and we've never visited this part of the country, before. Could you please point us in the right direction?"

"Of course, ma'am," he said, "Any friend of Mister Baggins is a friend o' mine. You just want to march straight down _that _road," he pointed down the long row of hobbit holes, "and go all the way to the very end of Bagshot Row. It'll be the smial at the top of the hill with the great-big oak tree growin' on top. You can't miss it."

"Thank you, mister…?"

"Gamgee," the hobbit gardener replied, "Samwise Gamgee at your service, ma'am."

With that, the two sisters gave some more gratitude and said their farewells to the gardener, and started off down the direction where he had indicated they should go.

"Well, he was nice," Anna commented, "And so sweet! I wonder if they're all like that in one way or another…"

"Yeah," Elsa agreed, but her thoughts were elsewhere. Only now did she realize how real meeting Bilbo again had become, now that they knew where to go. True, she'd wanted this day to happen, but that had been under the assumption that she would never come back. Now that her assumption had been proven wrong, she didn't know what she would do, or what she would say once they go there. What would his reaction be once they saw each other? Would he be angry with her, claiming that she had led him on after all that he had offered to her? How would she explain herself to him?

"Hey, I think we're almost there!" Anna said.

Elsa looked up in surprise. Anna was right; as they came around the bend, just a little further down the road, they could see a large oak tree with twisted limbs and leafy branches that sprawled over the top of a hill, where four chimneys poked up incongruously out of the grass. Below that, the slope of the hill became very steep, ending in lush beds of many flowers set against sections of yellow walls and round windows that poked through the grass-covered parts of the hill, as if the hill itself had tried to wash over a small house like the sea would.

They continued further on around two more bends of the road up the hill, and immediately they came upon a short wall of stone marking the perimeter of the place. The border was broken only by a wooden gate, flanked by a mailbox composed of small wooden barrels, which stood before a trail of stone steps leading up to a perfectly round door painted in green with a brass knob in the dead center.

Granted, it was no palace by any means, but even then, despite not knowing a thing about how hobbit society worked, Elsa would have to admit that the place did seem like someplace where only someone of great respect would reside in spite of its overall humility. The fact that it possessed a magnificent view of the lakes, rivers, and whole view of the Shire was proof enough of that.

Unable to contain her excitement, Anna grabbed Elsa by the wrist and practically dragged her along up to and through the front gate. They climbed up the stone steps, and stopped right in front of the door to Bag End. Here, Anna stepped aside and waved her hand to the front door, gesturing to Elsa. "He's your friend, after all," she reasoned.

Taking the invitation, Elsa cautiously stepped up to the door. She did so with breath bated with anticipation. She raised a clenched fist to rap against the wood…but she paused before she could bring down her knuckles, unable to move them.

"Just go ahead and knock," Anna encouraged her, "No big deal."

She's right, Elsa thought. Taking a deep breath, Elsa worked up her nerves and tried again…and yet again, she failed to do so, her fist hanging in the space between her and the door.

"Come on!" Anna whispered.

"…No, no, I—I can't," Elsa said, turning away, "I just can't."

"Why not?" Anna asked, "He's your friend."

"Exactly," Elsa replied, "I don't know if I can face him…"

Giving her a look of sympathy, Anna placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. "It's okay," she said, "I get it; it can be hard."

Elsa felt somewhat better after hearing that from her sister, but even then, a wall of anxiety stood between her and that door. Could she…?

Before she could stew any longer in her indecisiveness, Anna brushed past her, saying, "Leave it to the professional!"

Before Elsa could stop her, she rapped three times on the door. Elsa's jaw fastened at the third and final knock.

For about five long seconds, not a single sound could be heard, not even something tantamount to an acknowledgement of a living being. Maybe Bilbo was out, Elsa theorized internally, maybe he's asleep, or maybe we're just going to have to go back to Arendelle…

But then there came the muffled noise of small feet padding across wood floors. Anna backed up to be by Elsa's side, a wide smile across her face. Elsa's heart, meanwhile, began to race, beating like a drum against her ribcage. This is it, she thought to herself. She braced herself for this long-awaited reunion, anticipating what would likely be a very awkward but in the end happy meeting…

The door creaked open at last, and the inhabitant stood in the doorway, looking up at the two of them curiously.

But he wasn't Bilbo.

Elsa felt something within her collapse as she looked down at this young hobbit with dark brown curls of hair, soft facial features, and bright blue eyes dressed in a vest of brown velvet over a white buttoned shirt.

"Hello," the hobbit said, "Can I help you?"

The words struggled to escape Elsa's throat. "I—I—I'm sorry," she said at last, "But I think we're at the wrong address." She turned to leave, but Anna grabbed her by the wrist again, preventing her from going any further.

Turning to the hobbit, Anna said, "Hi, we're here to see Mr. Baggins. Is he here?"

The hobbit extended his hand towards them. "Frodo Baggins," he introduced himself, "at your service."

"Oh, well, pleasure to meet you, Frodo," Anna said, taking his small hand in hers and shaking it politely. "We're actually looking for _Bilbo _Baggins. Is he around?"

"I'm sorry," Frodo replied, "But Bilbo's…well, he's been gone for, well, a very long time, I'm afraid."

Every last possible meaning of those words clashed around in Elsa's head, but it was the worst one possible that occupied the greatest amount of space. But it couldn't be so; Bilbo couldn't possibly be…

I'm too late, she thought, mournfully surrendering to the terrible idea. I didn't come in time…and now I'll never see him again.

"…We're terribly sorry to bother you," she said to Frodo. "Come on, Anna."

But Anna didn't come with her. She turned back to Frodo and said, "Well, the next time you see him, could you let him know that Elsa and Anna stopped by for a visit, please?"

"…Of course," Frodo said, looking somewhat confused.

While the door closed behind them, Anna then came back to Elsa's side as they stepped back to the front gate. Elsa tried to hide the tears welling up, but what could she do?

But then the door swung back open, and Frodo rushed back outside again. "Hold on a moment!" he shouted out to the two sisters, who paused and turned in surprise. "Did you say _Elsa?_"

"Um, yes!" Anna said as she pointed to her sister, "She's Elsa, I'm Anna, but maybe you figured that out, already."

The hobbit came back down the stairs, awe widening his eyes as he looked at Elsa. "I don't believe it," he whispered, "It's _you_! It's really you! Of course it's you!"

"You know who I am?" Elsa asked, quickly wiping away the tears with her sleeve so that Frodo wouldn't see.

"Of course I know who you are!" he said as he ran up to them, "You're Uncle Bilbo's Snow Queen!"

"_Uncle_ Bilbo?" Elsa asked.

"Well, strictly speaking we're cousins, but that's another story," Frodo explained, "You _must _come inside for some tea; I insist!"

Elsa almost refused, but with a quick nudge from Anna's elbow, the two sisters followed the young hobbit back up the steps towards the door.

"The 'Snow Queen', huh?" Anna commented along the way, "That's pretty catchy!"

"_Please _don't start calling me, that," Elsa said.

They were forced to duck down through the entry, but to their surprise they found that the ceiling was tall enough for people of their height to walk around in with little fear (though on the way in, the hanging chandelier in the entrance hall nearly clocked Anna in the forehead). As Elsa hung her cloak up on the nearby coat rack, they found that the roots of the oak tree itself had been incorporated into the architecture after being thoroughly polished through and through as they wrapped around and dug through the walls.

Frodo lead them into the parlor, where they began to observe how everything about the architecture was dominated by roundness, from the halls to the entryways—but it was far from being a bother at all. Again, Elsa remembered Bilbo's offer and, aside from having to deal with ducking around the chandeliers and underneath the arches, found the place quite to her liking. Some of it, such as the minuteness of the furniture, might have taken some getting used to, but even then she could imagine growing comfortable here…

"You must pardon my enthusiasm; it's not very often that I meet people from Bilbo's adventures," Frodo explained as he went into the kitchen, "Mostly it's just Gandalf, but I haven't seen him for a long time."

"Gandalf's still around?" Elsa asked, "That's good to know."

"Yes, usually he brings his fireworks with him when he stops by."

"Oh, I _love _fireworks!" Anna said as she sat down at the table.

"So do most of the children," Frodo replied, "But as far as everyone else is concerned, he's been labeled a 'disturber of the peace'."

Elsa smiled at the remark; it seemed like the sort of thing that Gandalf would be known for, given her own experiences with the wizard. While Anna made herself comfortable, Elsa found herself drawn to the mantle above the glowing fireplace. Above it hung the portraits of a hobbit man and a hobbit woman across from each other; based off of their features, Elsa had to assume that they were relatives of Bilbo's, perhaps parents. She looked around the mantelpiece briefly before joining Anna at the table, having expecting something to be there, but she didn't know what that would be. Very strange…

Very soon, a fresh kettle sat over the fire, and the conversation began to roll forth while Frodo brought in food (enough for at least three meals) and as they waited for the water to boil: Elsa queried into what Bilbo had been up to after the quest, and Frodo explained that the moment he returned home, he found that his home and belongings were being auctioned off, since everyone had assumed he had up and died while being away for so long. He quickly settled the matter, however, and since then he had lived in relative peace, but in the meantime gained something of an unfavorable reputation, at least as hobbits were concerned.

"And he never married in that time?" Anna asked.

"No, he didn't," Frodo answered, "I asked him about it, and he said he could never find the woman for him."

At that answer, Anna looked over at Elsa with raised eyebrows, but all Elsa could do was draw invisible circles on the table with her finger.

The kettle suddenly whistled, and soon after they all sipped tea through tiny cups while Frodo continued his story, sharing details of what he and Bilbo had gone through together.

"So," Elsa said after he had finished, "What happened to him, in the end?"

"It's actually a very strange story," Frodo said, "We were celebrating his birthday party when he got up to make a speech to everyone. But as he was going along, he said that he was leaving, and after saying farewell, he vanished right into thin air, in front of the whole crowd!"

At first, Elsa felt surprised and wondered how Bilbo could have pulled off such a feat—but then she remembered Bilbo's little secret treasure that he had shared with her. "Yes," she murmured, "That sounds about right…"

"What's that, Elsa?" Anna asked.

"Oh, nothing," Elsa replied, "Anyway, where did he go?"

"No one's seen him since," Frodo explained, "but the last time I spoke to Gandalf, he said that he had gone to stay with the elves."

The knowledge that Bilbo hadn't died was a welcome relief to Elsa.

"Speaking of elves," Frodo said as he poured Anna some more tea, "I've always been curious; Bilbo suspected that you had at least some elvish blood, and…"

"I'm pretty sure we would know if one of our ancestors was an elf," Anna replied with a gentle smile.

"I thought not," Frodo said, "It's just that-you must pardon me for saying so, Miss Elsa, but I can't help but notice that you seem…well…very 'well-preserved', to say the least."

"I'm not sure I understand," Elsa replied.

"Well, it's just that…" Frodo said, clearly uncomfortable with what he was going to say, "…The last time you spoke with Bilbo was towards the end of the quest, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, let me say that the past sixty years have been better to you than they have to Bilbo, and _he _was very well-preserved, too."

The teacup Elsa had held in her hands dropped to the floor and shattered to pieces. Frost materialized around her as the air grew colder and colder. Immediately, Anna reached out and latched her hand on Elsa's. It was enough to make the frost dissipate, but even then the chill remained hanging in the air.

"I'm so sorry," Frodo said, "I didn't mean to offend you…"

"Oh no, you're fine," Anna said, "Right, Elsa?" Elsa, however, could only give a weak nod, which as far as she was concerned was only a physical lie.

"Anyway, moving on," Anna said, changing the subject, "That must have been quite a party!" With that, the conversation went forth along its course, with Anna contributing more and more this time, but Elsa spoke not a word. Only one thing remained on her mind.

_Sixty years…SIXTY YEARS! How is that possible?_

* * *

><p>After that, the rest of their teatime conversation went by uninterrupted by any unintended manifestation of Elsa's powers, while the subject drifted away from Bilbo to other things of admittedly trivial importance. For the most part, Anna and Frodo took up most of the talking, their topics ranging from favorite childhood memories to trading information about games to play in their spare time, including one called 'conkers' that Bilbo had taught to Frodo in his childhood. Elsa, however, remained utterly silent regardless of how often Anna attempted to nudge her back in, while the air continued to be unnaturally cool in the little parlor. Fortunately, it didn't call for alarm, but it was enough to make Anna rub her goose-bump ridden arms for warmth, while Frodo tossed a couple more logs on the fire. This concerned the younger sister to no end; she too had been surprised by Frodo's revelation, but she could hardly imagine how much it affected Elsa. But how could she address it? She couldn't just stand by and let her sister stew away like that in her state of distraught…<p>

The question lingered in the back of her mind for some time, but between that and talking to Frodo, she couldn't come up with a solution to it, and that troubled her to no end. She couldn't even keep track of the time, up until Elsa suddenly stood up and said, "I'm sorry, but my sister and I have to go."

"Huh?" Anna said, confused at first by this sudden declaration. But then she looked out through the parlor window, and saw the sky turning multiple shades of pink and orange as the sun descended towards the horizon, and she remembered the promise she had made earlier. "Oh, yeah," she said sadly, "It is getting kind of late…"

"Must you go so soon?" Frodo asked, "I'm sure you must have traveled very far, though I don't know the distance; perhaps you could stay and rest for the night, and then leave in the morning…"

"Thank you, but no," Elsa said as she walked over to the coat rack, "We must be gone at once."

Anna simply sighed and said to Frodo in a hushed voice, "Well, thanks for having us on such short notice; I'm just sorry we have to go so soon. Royal duties, you know what I mean?"

"Of course," Frodo replied, "I've promised some friends that I would meet them at the Green Dragon pub, anyway. But are you sure you won't need any provisions?"

"Oh no, we're good," Anna smiled, "_Trust _me. We've got it covered."

Elsa called for Anna again, and she followed her older sister through the rounded doorway obediently, but with much reluctance into the refreshing warm evening air (relative to the chill that lingered throughout their visit, anyway).

"Thank you," Elsa said as she draped her blue cloak over herself, "For allowing us into your home on such short notice."

"You're welcome," Frodo said, "Shall I expect to see you again?"

A pause hung in the air before Elsa said anything. She turned away as she spoke. "No," she said, with a definitive air of finality. "Goodbye, Frodo Baggins."

After Anna gave Frodo more of her gratitude for his hospitality, the two sisters went on their way back down the road they came—but Anna took a moment to look back as the small hobbit quietly stepped back into Bag End, closing the door behind him in the growing distance between them.

"So, he was nice…," Anna quietly remarked to Elsa, "…guy makes a mean little cup of tea, am I right?"

Elsa, however, didn't even so much as look at her, keeping her gaze on the ground and her mouth closed. It remained that way as Anna followed Elsa down the hill and over the road through Hobbiton, where far less hobbits were out on the streets while golden lights began shining from the windows of the hobbit-holes in response to the dimming light outside. They continued on, passing a mill and crossing a bridge over a gently flowing river, and there the occurrence of hobbit-holes ceased altogether, indicating they had passed the village limits. But even then, they didn't stop walking on until the sun had gone out of the sky, though its light still shone over the horizon, and all they could see of Hobbiton was a small cluster of yellow lights nestled against the shores of a small lake.

They kept going, and Anna asked, "How far do we have to keep walking?"

"The further from civilization we are," Elsa explained, the sound of her voice a welcome reprieve from the silence, "The better off we'll be; we can't risk anyone seeing the Star Gem once we go home."

Hours passed on by mercilessly, and Elsa redirected their journey off of the road and deep into a thick patch of forest just on the wayside. Here, Anna had to make sure she had to stay close to Elsa in order to keep from getting lost in this especially dark place where the light only barely broke through the trees.

But then, once they reached a small clearing where the light came through all the way, she had to stop in her tracks. She knew what she needed to say.

"Elsa," she said, "I'm sorry I forced you to do this…and I'm sorry we didn't get to see Bilbo. I just…"

To her surprise, Elsa stopped at the sound of her words, and turned to face her. "No," she said, "I'm the one who should be sorry. Sorry to him…"

"Elsa?"

"Sixty years, Anna," Elsa said, "Sixty _years_ went by in this world, but only eight months went by for me back home in Arendelle…."

"There's no way you could have known that…"

"I should have!" Elsa cried out, "But I don't understand how it all works! Only a few years went by for me the last time I was in Middle Earth, but only four months had passed by in Arendelle. What difference would eight months there make for here? Apparently a LOT, and now…" she fell to her knees, sighing out loud in the growing moonlight, "He's an old man, now…I wasted his years."

Carefully, Anna stepped forward. "You cared about Bilbo a lot, didn't you?" she asked.

Elsa gave the slightest of nods. "He…he was the first person in this whole world whom I felt understood me…everyone else valued me as a weapon. He valued me as a person…he was like a dear brother to me. I should have come back sooner, but I couldn't."

Anna nodded with new understanding.

With a deep breath, Elsa stood back up onto her feet. "But I can't change what's happened," she said. "Give me the Star Gem, Anna. We're going home."

Anna nodded. "One magic glowing rock of teleportation coming right up," she said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the velvet bag. Loosening the string, she looked inside and…suddenly became very concerned.

"Um, Elsa," she said nervously, "Is this normal?"

"What are you talking about?" Elsa asked.

"Well…" She held the open end of the bag towards her sister, who stepped forward to take a look. They both looked inside to find that the once pure white gleam of the Gem had dimmed. Now, it looked as though grey smoke had been trapped inside the gem, swirling around in thick, billowing clouds.

Elsa grasped and pulled the Gem out of the bag, holding it in the tip of her fingers as she inspected it. "What on earth…?" she whispered.

"Is it broken or something?" Anna asked.

"I don't know," Elsa said, "But we should try it anyway, just in case. Hold my hand, and think of Arendelle."

Anna did so, and Elsa grasped the dim Star Gem tightly in her hand, closing her eyes. Closing her eyes, Anna concentrated her thoughts on Arendelle, thinking of its snowcapped mountains, rugged fjords, the castle, and of Kristoff, especially. They stood still for a few moments, waiting, listening…but the night remained undisturbed. Not even a breeze trickled through the foliage.

Anna blinked open her eyes, and saw no golden shards pass by them at all. They still stood there in the forest clearing.

"Nothing's happening," Anna reported.

Frustrated, Elsa let go of Anna's hand and looked at the Star Gem more closely, confused. "No, no, no, no! How is this possible? It should have worked! We should be back home by now…"

Snowflakes yet again began to dance around them in a twisting spiral.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Anna said, "Maybe it just needs…"

"Anna, I _can't_," Elsa said, "I don't know what's wrong with it, and I don't know how to get it to work."

"Wait…you mean we're stuck here?" Anna asked.

Elsa glanced over at her for a moment, with panic in her eyes. She didn't say anything else.

The situation began to dawn on Anna with unprecedented speed, and she realized what price her desires had cost her. The fjords and the northern lights: gone. The castle, the guards, and all the servants: gone. Winter days sledding down the slopes and winter nights spent by the fire with a cup of hot cocoa: gone. Olaf and Sven: gone. And Kristoff…tears began to well in her eyes. She never gave him the chance to hear her answer…How could she have done this? This was all her fault…

But then, an idea came to her, and everything seemed to get a little brighter with it.

"Of course!" she said, "We just need to find someone who knows how to fix it, like Gandalf!"

"Gandalf is a wandering vagabond," Elsa said, "There's no way we'd be able to find him quickly…not without arousing unwanted attention, anyway."

"So, that just leaves…oh, I got it!" Anna declared, "That elf guy from Rivendell!"

"Lord Elrond?" Elsa asked.

"Yeah, he'd know about this kind of thing, right?"

"Anna, Rivendell would take us _months_ to travel to," Elsa said.

"Do we have any other options?" Anna asked. "Besides, we probably have plenty of time to get there; what's a couple of months here to Arendelle, anyway? Don't answer that question, because I'm no expert."

Elsa's response came sooner than she expected. "Alright," she said, "we're going to Rivendell. But we have to move swiftly; there's probably a town further down the road that we can pick up provisions in."

"Don't you think we should find somewhere to rest for the night?" Anna suggested, "Heck, we could just—" But then she found herself shushed by Elsa. Nearly about to protest, she saw the searching look in Elsa's eyes as she peered around the forest, the same look she had worn before the Phantom launched its attack.

"What's wrong?" Anna whispered, but Elsa didn't answer. With one hand she clutched the dim Star Gem as tightly as possible. The other she raised into the air, and a glowing orb of ice materialized within her fingers.

"Get behind me, Anna," she instructed under her breath, and Anna complied accordingly, watching the shadows with new fear.

Something snapped somewhere. The two spun around at the noise, but found nothing. This did nothing to abate the rising panic in Anna's heart. She was on high alert, attentive to every possible movement in the shadows. Now she started to understand what Elsa meant when she had said there was danger to be found…

Suddenly, a thick crunching sound came from behind them. The two sisters spun around again, and Anna yelped at what she thought was going to be some horrific creature intent on devouring them…

Instead, they found themselves looking into the twinkling grey-blue eyes of an old man with a long silvery beard and bushy eyebrows who held a twisted, gnarled wooden staff in one hand. He wore long, flowing grey robes and a blue, pointed hat with a broad rim.

The ice orb that Elsa held dissipated immediately. "Gandalf?" she said.

Anna's fear turned into surprise. Here was an actual figure from Elsa's adventures…and a real, live wizard to boot! She became very excited, having at last met a professional wielder of magic.

"Elsa? I never thought I'd…Why have you come back?" Gandalf asked, "It's not safe to be here at all!"

"I know, and I'm sorry," Elsa apologized.

"Yeah, it was my fault," Anna admitted, stepping out from behind her, "It's kind of a long complicated story…Oh, I'm Anna, by the way, Elsa's sister."

"You must return to your world at once," Gandalf declared, "Both of you."

"I know, and we're trying!" Elsa said, "But the Star Gem won't work!"

"What do you mean?" Gandalf said.

"Take a look for yourself," Elsa said as she handed him the Gem, "Maybe you can fix it."

Gandalf took the Gem in his gnarled hands and looked over it carefully, turning it over and over again to look at each individual facet. The concern on his face, meanwhile, only seemed to grow.

"It worked when it brought us here," Elsa explained, "but now we can't get it to operate. Is there some spell we have to chant?"

Gandalf didn't seem to hear them, however, as incoherent words mumbled past his lips and into the night. However, Anna did manage to catch some of the things that he said, including things like "Not possible," and "intertwined destinies," and, "Could it be?"

All the same, however, his eyes glimmered with an odd sort of fear, and Anna felt that he was putting pieces to a puzzle that she couldn't understand together.

"Can you fix it?" Elsa asked.

Gandalf looked back up at the two of them with sadness in his eyes. "No, I cannot," he answered.

"Why not?"

"Because this may be part of something greater and more terrible than you can imagine…" he said. Then, he started to head through the foliage. "You must come with me at once," he said, "We have urgent business to attend to at Bag End."

"Bag End? We just left there!" Anna said.

"Then that will save us time on introductions," Gandalf replied, "and more time to sort out some answers! Hurry, the both of you!"

* * *

><p>Several hours later, and after Gandalf had reined in his horse somewhere safe, the three of them were coming back up the stairs to Bag End in the dead of the night. Fortunately, the lights inside the hobbit hole still glowed golden, so it seemed that Frodo had returned from that 'Green Dragon' place that he said he was going to. Barely coming within a yard of it, Gandalf rapped the door urgently with the butt of his staff. There was no answer at first, and Gandalf met the delay with yet another rapping. Immediately the door swung open, and there stood Frodo again, looking very surprised to see them all again. "Gandalf, Elsa, Anna! What are you…?"<p>

"Hi, Frodo!" Anna said, "We lied!"

Gandalf, however, leaned down and grabbed Frodo by the shoulder with that same desperate urgency.

"Is it secret?" he whispered, "Is it safe?"

At first, the hobbit seemed confused, but then he appeared to catch on as he let them all inside. Anna and Elsa, on the other hand, were still oblivious to what was going on, but they went along anyway, shutting the door behind them and going into the parlor, while Frodo went over to a chest nestled beneath the roots of the tree and began to rummage through the contents, pulling out some rolled up papers as he went.

"Gandalf, what's going on?" Elsa asked, but the wizard ignored her. At the sound of a crow outside, however, he whirled around and pointed his staff at the noise.

"Here it is!" Frodo said, and he held up an envelope sealed with red wax. Immediately, Gandalf snatched it out of his little hand and went to the fireplace where, to everyone's surprise, he huddled down and tossed it into the burning fireplace.

"What are you doing?" Frodo asked, obviously concerned over what would happen to the contents of the envelope. Anna and Elsa came over and watched, curious as to what Gandalf was trying to do.

Upon exposure to the heat, the parchment from which the envelope was made from began to blacken and wrinkle away as the small white tongues of flame scrambled over and devoured it, distorting its shape. Gandalf, meanwhile, grabbed a pair of tongs and pointed the business end towards it.

As the parchment burned, it peeled and curled away to reveal a small, plain gold ring nestled in the ashes, reflecting the fire's glow in its surface.

"Bilbo's ring?" Elsa said.

Everyone looked over at her in surprise, especially Gandalf. "You know about this?" he asked, "How?"

"He showed it to me before I came to you," she admitted.

"And you didn't tell me of it?" he asked.

"I—I didn't think it was important," she explained.

Grumbling, Gandalf turned his attention back to the fireplace, and plucked the ring out with the tongs. He held it in the air before turning to Frodo. "Hold out your hand," he instructed the young hobbit, with "It's quite cool" as an assurance.

Frodo did so, and the ring dropped into his palm. No sound of pain emanated from his lips. Anna, meanwhile, leaned in a little closer to see the ring.

"What can you see?" Gandalf asked, standing back up on to his feet, "Can you see anything?"

Frodo turned the ring over a couple of times in his fingertips, looking as Anna did for anything out of the ordinary. "Nothing," he said, "There's nothing."

Anna stood back upright, somewhat disappointed. What had this whole thing been about, anyway?

"Wait," Frodo said, and both Anna and Elsa leaned back in, curious to see what he had found. On the band, there appeared twisting, elegantly flowing letters of some strange language, written in finer strokes than any hand they knew capable, glowing like fire in the metal and casting red light across the walls of the room. Frodo told Gandalf of this, making the observation, "It's some form of Elvish. I can't read it."

Elsa and Anna turned to look at the wizard, whose back was turned to the three of them.

"There are few who can," he said in response, the tone of his voice as dark and serious as his expression as he turned to face them, "The language is that of Mordor, which I will not utter here."

"Mordor?" Frodo asked.

_Mordor…_Anna had never heard the word before in her life, and yet somehow the sheer utterance of it filled her with an odd sort of dread. She looked over at Elsa, and there she could see a similar dread in her eyes as well.

Gandalf went on. "In the common tongue, it says,

_One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,_

_One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them._"


	3. Chapter 3: Sins of the Past

Elsa, Anna, and Frodo all stared silently at Gandalf, bathed in the glow of the fireplace, while the light of the glowing inscription on the Ring slowly faded away.

"I—I'm sorry, but I don't understand," Elsa said, "It's just a magic ring, isn't it? All it did was made Bilbo invisible; he told me that himself."

"I'm with Elsa," Frodo said, "What has this got to do with Mordor?"

"Yeah," Anna said, "And—who's this 'Mordor', anyway?"

Gandalf sighed and took a seat by the table, saying, "Perhaps it is best if I explain what this is all about; you have already become greatly involved in this affair, and you may have yet to play a greater part in all of this. Anna, Elsa, please take a seat. Frodo, if you could set about some tea, that would be most appreciated; this is going to be a very long story, and you will need to hear it too, for your sake."

The two sisters did as the wizard asked, grabbing some chairs to sit on while Gandalf pulled out an elaborately long pipe from within the folds of his robe and lit it with a match; Frodo, meanwhile, went into the kitchen and grabbed the kettle from earlier, but not before placing the Ring on the table, where it reflected their faces in its gold surface.

As a puff of smoke streamed past his lips and curled into the air, the wizard began his tale:

"Long ago, in the Second Age of this Middle Earth, the great Rings of Power were forged by the elven smiths, under the tutelage of a being named _Annatar_, the Lord of Gifts. The elves had made lesser rings as essays in the craft before, but with his guidance, they now achieved their masterpieces. Three of these Rings were given to the Rulers of the Elves, the wisest and fairest of all beings; seven were granted to the Dwarf Lords, the miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls; and nine were given to the race of Men. Within these rings was given the strength and will to govern the races of Middle-Earth."

"Well, that was nice of this Annatar guy to help them out like that!" Anna said, "That sounds like a lot of rings, though."

"It was not done out of charity," Gandalf said seriously, "All of them were deceived, for Annatar's true purpose was far darker, and his true name was _Sauron._"

At the sound of the name, frost spread from Elsa's hand, on to her chair and to the floor like wildfire catching on dry tinder. "HIM?" she said, "You mean…?"

"Yes," Gandalf said. "In the Land of Mordor, where he reigned supreme as the Dark Lord, Sauron forged in secret a Master Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, one to control all the other rings and enslave their bearers. To accomplish this, he imbued it with part of his own power, his own will, malice, and his desire to dominate every living thing. In doing so, he also augmented his own power, making him almost unstoppable. With this new strength, he began a campaign to spread his shadow across all of Middle-Earth and bring it under his control.

'But his attempt at conquest was not unopposed. A Last Alliance of men and elves marched towards Mordor, and on the slopes of Mount Doom, they fought for the freedom of Middle-Earth. But the two armies, as valiant as they were, were no match for the power of the ring; Sauron would nearly have slaughtered them all, were it not for Isildur, the Prince of Gondor, who took up his father's broken sword Narsil, and cut the Ring from his hand, defeating the Dark Lord."

At that, a memory flashed before Elsa's eyes; she remembered seeing a mural in Rivendell of a human warrior slashing at the hand of a monstrous figure in black armor…and she remembered the gold ring upon the dark conqueror's hand…

"Thus, the Ring came to Isildur," Gandalf continued, "who claimed it for his own as part of the spoils of war, rather than casting it into the fire as he should have at that critical moment. But when he went traveling one year later, his party was ambushed by orcs; it is said that he placed the Ring upon his finger and dove into the river Anduin in an attempt to escape. But the Ring has a will of its own; it slipped off of his finger and sank to the bottom, revealing him to orc archers and betraying the young King of Gondor to his death. It became lost to the world for over two-thousand years, passing into legend, myth, and nearly out of mortal memory."

"Wait, so how'd it get out of the river?" asked Anna.

"It was found, of course," Gandalf answered, "The Ring came into the hands of a creature now known as Gollum, and gave him unnatural long life; for five-hundred years it consumed all of his thoughts and became his greatest desire, all as he slunk in the dark caverns and tunnels of the Misty Mountains."

"The Misty Mountains?" Elsa said, "We were there, when the goblins attacked us!"

"And Bilbo got it from Gollum, while he was separated from you there," Frodo said, a kettle full of hot water in one hand, "He told me the story; he said he won it in a game of riddles with Gollum, and in return he was shown the way out."

"Yes," Gandalf said, "But when Bilbo told me of how he got it, I suspected that he had…altered the truth, so to speak. I've encountered Gollum before, and from what it seemed, it appeared that Bilbo had inadvertently stolen it from him."

"No," Elsa said, "Bilbo would never do that, he'd…" but then she remembered how nervous Bilbo had been when she asked him about it back in Erebor. Further back than that, she remembered how he never did tell them how he got past the goblins…the truth of the matter was terrible to bear.

"An unusual alteration of his character up to that point, I agree," Gandalf said, "All the more evidence of the Ring's evil, right under our very noses."

"But how did you know that it was the One Ring?" Frodo asked.

"Personally I had my suspicions about the Ring after Bilbo's birthday party, when he pulled his little prank on everyone. However, I have just confirmed its true nature here tonight; the inscription you have all seen was a secret, as Isildur himself wrote in the Gondorian records, that only fire could tell."

He took a long puff from his pipe before he continued. "For sixty years, the Ring lay quiet in Bilbo's keeping, prolonging his life and delaying old age. But no longer; evil is stirring in Mordor. The Ring has awoken…it's heard its master's call."

"Huh?" said Anna, "I thought you said this 'Sauron' was destroyed by Essel..door…am I saying it right? Never mind; he was killed, right?"

"No," Gandalf said. His voice became reduced to a harsh whisper, "Sauron's body was destroyed, but his spirit endured. His life force was bound to the Ring, and the Ring survived. Thus, Sauron has returned; he first took up residence in Dol-guldur, deep within Mirkwood Forest, but those of us in the White Council drove him out before he could destroy any opposition in the north. But now, he has returned to his dominion of old. His orcs have multiplied, and his fortress of Barad-dûr has been rebuilt in Mordor, but he needs only this Ring to cover the land in a second darkness. He is seeking it, always seeking it, all his thought his bent on recovering it. The Ring yearns above all else to return to the hand of its Master. They are one; the Ring and the Dark Lord."

He then looked up at all three of them, with a pleading look in his eyes. "He must _never _find it," he whispered.

"Okay, then," said Elsa, "…Just makes sure it stays hidden."

A small snort came from Anna at that moment.

"What was that about?" Elsa asked.

"Oh nothing! Nothing at all!" Anna said. However, Elsa saw through the pretense, and caught on to what Anna had inadvertently implied.

"I think a little gold ring," she defended, "would be far easier to keep secret than…" she waved a wisp of airborne frost around in her hand for a moment, "…that."

"I agree," Frodo said, plucking the Ring off the table. "It's simple enough; we put it away, keep it hidden, and never speak of it again. After all, no one else knows it's here, do they?" He looked towards Gandalf for some form of reassurance, but when Elsa looked over at the wizard, all she could see in his countenance was worry and regret.

"Do they, Gandalf?" Frodo asked again.

Gandalf took a deep sigh before he spoke again. "There is one other who knew that Bilbo had the Ring," he said.

"Gollum?" Anna said.

"Yes. The Ring may treacherously abandon those who bear it, save for its true master, but those who bear it never abandon it. Desperate to reclaim the Ring for himself, Gollum dared to wander out of the caverns and tunnels of the Misty Mountains, and searched for it as far as the streets of Dale, following whispered tales of our company, and in turn becoming the subject of whispered tales himself. The Wood Elves at first were able to track him in the forests of Mirkwood, but then the trail disappeared there. Believe me; I searched all of the Wilderland for Gollum, along with one of the best hunters and trackers this age has ever seen. We did find him…but we learned that he had wandered into Mordor itself, as all evil things had been drawn there by the Dark Power, and that the enemy found him first. I don't know how long they tortured him, but amidst the endless screaming and inane babbling they discerned two words…words that Bilbo had foolishly given Gollum himself when they first met…'_Shire' _and '_Baggins_'."

A brief pause ensued as the impact of Gandalf's information sank in. The air grew frigid as Elsa looked over at the now clearly terrified young hobbit. The memory of being told as a little girl that Fear itself would be her enemy came back to her vividly, but now for Frodo, it was as if the mob was already marching to the doors…

He suddenly stood and thrust the Ring, held in the tips of his fingers, towards the wizard. "Take it, Gandalf!" he said.

Gandalf, however, stood up and backed away from his outstretched hand, like a dog at the sight of the cruel master's fearsome whip. "No, Frodo," he said.

"You _must _take it!"

"You cannot offer me this Ring!"

"I'm giving it to you!"

"DON'T TEMPT ME, FRODO!" the wizard shouted at last, cowing Frodo back into his seat. "I dare not take it," he said in a hushed voice. "And _no one_ should dare take it," he added, explicitly looking at Anna and Elsa, "not even to keep it safe. Understand, I would use this Ring from a desire to do good…but through me, it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine. That is its ultimate curse; to take those who would be the master, and turn them into its slave."

"But it cannot stay in the Shire!" Frodo protested.

"No, no it can't," Gandalf agreed.

At those words, Frodo seemed to turn quite pale as he stood up. He walked away from the table and leaned against the fire place, staring into the flames, lost in contemplation and terror.

Elsa and Anna, meanwhile, leaned in towards Gandalf. "What does any of this have to do with us?" Elsa asked him in a voice quiet enough for Frodo not to overhear them.

"Tell me," Gandalf asked, "How was it that you returned?"

Elsa then went on to tell him of how she had kept the chest of Star Gems locked away inside of the Castle Dungeon, and of how she found Anna there. She then went on to tell them of the Phantom that attacked them and led to their being back in Middle-Earth—however, she left out the part about having handled the Star Gem herself.

She concluded her story by asking, "Do you think Sauron sent the homunculus somehow?"

"No," he answered, "I don't. The type of magic you've just described to me has never been seen or heard of in Middle Earth…and I don't think that Sauron, or his predecessor, have ever developed such magic. Darkness cannot create; it can only distort or corrupt that which is already there to suit its purposes. Legend tells that the orcs and goblins were created that way."

"Then why are we stuck here?" Anna asked, "What's up with the smoke in the Gem?"

"I don't know," Gandalf said, "Perhaps your arrival was coincidence, but your being marooned here…I have the strangest feeling that perhaps it is connected to the Ring, somehow…but only time will tell."

A shuffling in the other direction alerted them to Frodo's return. They turned to face him, finding him still pale with dread, and Elsa couldn't blame him at all for that. In his blue eyes there dwelled confusion, fear, and the longing for guidance, something Elsa had seen too many times in the eyes of people around her, including her own parents.

"What am I to do, then?" he asked very quietly.

"You must leave," Gandalf answered, rising to his feet, "And leave quickly. You must be gone by morning."

"What about us?" Elsa asked as she stood up as well, "What do we do?"

"You'll be going with him," Gandalf answered. He leaned in close to her, saying, "He will need all the protection he will get, and your arrival is most serendipitous. Promise me that you will do all you can to keep him safe, Elsa."

She gave a slight nod in agreement.

"If Elsa's going with him, then so am I," Anna declared, "Come on Frodo, we'll help you pack!"

They set to work swiftly; it was a mad rush as Gandalf and Frodo grabbed a pack and started folding and stuffing his clothing into it; Elsa and Anna, meanwhile, went about gathering food from the pantry after being given their own sacks by Gandalf.

"Where are we supposed to go, by the way?" Anna asked as she poured in some apples.

"Get out of the Shire, and make for the village of Bree," Gandalf instructed.

"_Bree_?" Elsa said while wrapping up a loaf of bread, "Are you sure?"

"You know the place?" Anna asked.

"Yes, I've been there, before," Elsa admitted, "but only to sell ice…and coming in from the wrong direction. Wait a minute, what about you, Gandalf?"

"I'll be waiting for you at the Inn of the Prancing Pony," the Wizard explained.

"And the Ring will be safe, there?" Frodo asked.

"I do not know," Gandalf admitted, "I don't have any answers. I must speak with the head of my order. He is both wise and powerful; he will know what to do."

"Sounds like a plan!" Anna said.

Sooner than Elsa had expected, they were just about ready for their journey.

"You'll have to leave the name of Baggins behind you," Gandalf advised to Frodo as he helped him slip on his jacket and a traveling cloak, "That name is no longer safe outside of the Shire. Travel only by day, and stay off the road."

"We can cut across country easily enough," Frodo mused. He grabbed a walking staff and slipped the Ring into one of his pockets.

"That's all fine," Elsa said as she put on her cloak, "Just make sure you don't disappear on us."

"I won't put on the Ring, I promise," Frodo said.

"It's not that," she explained, "Bilbo could appear and disappear without the Ring; I could hardly keep track of him, sometimes."

They heard Anna struggle with something in the kitchen, and Frodo went to go help her out. In that brief instant of solitude, Elsa turned to Gandalf, saying, "He's taken this all very well, for someone who's carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders…and especially for someone so small."

The wizard gave her a comforting smile. "Hobbits really are amazing creatures, Elsa," he said, "You can learn all that there is to know about them and their ways in a month, and yet after a hundred years, they can still surprise you. I would advise learning from them along the way."

Suddenly, they heard foliage rustling and crackling somewhere. The two of them looked around to see an open window, where some of the flower bushes were waving against the wind, as if on their own accord.

_How long has that been open? _Elsa wondered.

"Get behind me," Gandalf said to Elsa, who did so accordingly. The wizard grabbed his staff and pointed the end of it towards the window. Frodo and Anna meanwhile had come and now watched with fearful eyes from the kitchen entrance.

Slowly, the Wizard paced towards the window, his eyes fastened on the bushes like a cat prowling for mice. He took another small step and paused, searching for some sign of activity—but whatever sat hidden out there, it seemed, was not particularly good at hiding. At another rustling of the bushes, Gandalf jabbed his staff forward into the brush. Someone barked out in pain at the jab; in a move like lightning, the wizard reached down into the flowerbed, grabbed the concealed, and with great strength threw him on to the table. But to Elsa's surprise, it certainly wasn't an orc.

"CONFOUND IT ALL, SAMWISE GAMGEE!" the wizard yelled at the hyperventilating blonde hobbit lying flat on the table before him, "Have you been eavesdropping?!"

Seeing who had been hiding out all this time, the others relaxed somewhat and came forward, though they didn't say a word during the interrogation.

"I haven't been dropping no eaves, sir, honest!" Samwise insisted, "I was just cutting the grass under the window there, if you'll follow me!"

"A little late for trimming the verdes, don't you think?" Gandalf questioned.

"I heard raised voices—"

"What did you hear?" the wizard demanded, "SPEAK!"

"N-n-nothing important!" Samwise stammered, "That is, I heard a good deal about a ring, a Dark Lord, and something about the end of the world, but—please, Mister Gandalf, don't hurt me! Please don't turn me into anything…unnatural!"

At that plea, a strange look glimmered in Gandalf's expression.

"No…" he said as he briefly glanced over in a grinning Frodo's direction, "Perhaps not." He leaned in close and whispered, "I have a better use for you!"

* * *

><p>Several more hours passed, and by the time that dawn began to creep upon the Shire, the trio were all fully set to depart (in spite of the fact that none of them had much time for sleep). Before they walked out the door, Elsa had abandoned the dress she had worn for the court meeting, and once again conjured up for herself a dress more suited for traveling in the countryside; seeing how it would be dead weight, she decided to leave the previous dress behind at Bag End.<p>

As they followed Gandalf out of the door, Elsa took one truly final look at Bag End; at last she had seen it for herself, and while it felt good to enter through the door again, she only wished that her old friend had been there to see them off. She would have lingered there for a greater duration, were it not for Anna and Gandalf's insistence.

Now, this was goodbye to the last trace of Bilbo she would see. She was certain of that.

Outside, all was still quiet in the streets of Hobbiton; after Gandalf picked up his horse, they made their way down the path, careful as not to alert anyone to their presence. The wizard took them eastward for a bit, before they heard the sound of small footfalls behind them. They turned, and saw as Samwise, lugging a hefty travel pack clanging with pots, pans, and other cooking-ware on his spine, shuffling in their direction. "I made it, Mr. Frodo!" he huffed, exhausted by what must have been a long distance run, "I got everything we'll need, just like you said!"

"Good job, Sam," Frodo congratulated, "Did you get my letter to Merry?"

"Yes I did, Mr. Frodo," Sam heaved.

"Who's Merry?" Anna asked.

"Meriadoc Brandybuck, a cousin and good friend of mine," Frodo said, "I've asked him to watch Bag End for me while I'm gone."

"Ain't no Sackville-Bagginses going to get that place while he's there, no sir!" Sam added.

"Very well, but we need to get moving," Gandalf said, "Come along, Samwise, keep up!"

They moved on, following the same path that Elsa and Anna had taken the previous night, all the way out to the distant woods. Hobbiton was far behind them by the time dawn asserted itself more fully, lost behind the thick groves of old trees that they now found themselves in. All that time, they hadn't said a word, save for Gandalf as he commanded the lagging Sam to catch up to them.

"Be careful, all of you," Gandalf warned them as they went along, "The Enemy has many spies in his service; birds, beasts…Elsa, I would suggest using your talents to a bare minimum along the way, so not as to attract attention."

Alerted to this fact, Elsa and Anna glanced around through the forest, now wary of such spies. Elsa remembered the skirmish she had with the Phantom, and now regretted having used her powers in broad daylight…

Stopping in his tracks, Gandalf turned to Frodo and asked, "Is it safe?"

Frodo pressed his hand against a certain pocket of his in confirmation.

At that, Gandalf knelt down and warned, "Never put it on, for the agents of the Dark Lord will be drawn to its power. Always remember, Frodo, the Ring is trying to get back to its Master. It _wants _to be found."

With that, the wizard gave some final farewells, climbed onto his brown horse, and galloped away before them with great speed; he vanished before the four of them even knew it. At his departure, the very world around them seemed to darken, the birdcalls in the very trees becoming something to be cautious of. They stood there, the two hobbits, the Snow Queen, and her sister, for some time.

Suddenly, a smile broke out on Anna's face. "Elsa," she gasped, "Do you know what this means?"

Elsa gave her a look of confusion. "What?" she asked.

Anna's smile only grew wider. "We're going on an _adventure_!" she beamed.

"You mean like in one of Mr. Bilbo's stories?" Sam asked.

"Probably," Frodo replied.

"We need to get moving," Elsa said at last. Agreeing with her, the group finally went forward, moving along as quickly as they could. However, Anna turned to Samwise as they went. "We never properly introduced ourselves," she said, "I'm Anna, and this is my sister, Elsa."

"Pleasure to meet the two of you," Sam said, "Truly it is. So, you really know Bilbo Baggins?"

"Well, Elsa does," Anna explained, "She actually went on that quest of his!"

"Really?" Sam asked, "But that was _years_ ago…how did you—how are you—?"

"It's a long and complicated story," Anna said, sparing Elsa the pain, "Trust me."

* * *

><p>The hours passed on by as they walked along the way, the scenery around their path alternating from forest glades to open fields with little cottages nestled nearby. Their progress remained unimpeded by any overly curious or suspicious folk they passed by, in spite of the strange nature of the party at hand; it seemed to them that the policy around these parts consisted of "Don't stick your nose into someone else's business." They only stopped every once in a while for a quick bite to eat and to rest their feet before picking up and moving on again. However, it became clear to Elsa that Anna had never really been adjusted to walking long distances, seeing how she complained every once in a while of her sore feet. "How did you <em>deal <em>with this?" her sister begrudgingly asked, "I don't think I'll get used to this; I think I've already got a blister, somewhere."

"You will," Elsa assured her, "Trust me; it takes a while to get used to, though."

"Easy for you to say," Anna shot back, "Everything you wear is made of ice! You're kept cool all day!" Turning to the hobbits, she said, "And how are you guys walking around in your bare feet? How does that work?"

"We hobbits never need shoes," Frodo explained, "The soles of our feet are naturally tough, like leather, you might say."

"What about when it snows?" Anna asked, "What do you do, then?"

"It actually doesn't snow that often in the Shire," Frodo said, "And when it does, our feet are still warm."

"Sounds like you'd get along well in Arendelle," Anna remarked.

"Is that where you're from?" Sam asked, "Where is that?"

"A very, very long ways from here," Elsa replied, "You won't find it on any maps, and I can promise you that."

"Then how did you get here?" Sam asked.

"We have our ways," Anna said, "But that's our little secret."

"Don't you miss being so far away from home?" he asked.

"Of course we do," Elsa replied, "And that's why we're along for the journey."

* * *

><p>They continued on their path until late in the afternoon towards some hills and mountains colored blue by way of their sheer distance away from the small traveling party. Trusting in Frodo's general knowledge of directions, they passed through a thick field of corn stalks before breaking into an open patch of golden wheat where a lone scarecrow served as a perch for three unassuming crows. A few paces further down, and suddenly they noticed that Sam had fallen behind. Elsa looked back with Frodo to see the other hobbit frozen in place, staring at the boundary between the wheat and the sprouts of corn.<p>

"What's wrong?" Elsa asked.

"This is it," Sam declared.

"This is what?" Frodo asked.

"If I take one more step," Sam explained, taking in a deep breath, "It'll be the farthest away from home I've ever been."

Elsa and Anna glanced at each other, and Elsa could see in her sister's eyes some empathy for him; no doubt she was thinking of the untold distance between them and Arendelle, right now.

Frodo, meanwhile, walked up to him, and gestured the way forward with his walking stick. "Come on, Sam," he encouraged him.

Very reluctantly, Sam put one foot ahead of the other, followed by the other foot, until he too found himself next to Frodo in the corn, who patted him on the back.

As they caught up with Elsa and Anna, Frodo remarked, "Remember what Bilbo used to say: 'It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.'"

Elsa could almost hear Bilbo's very voice as Frodo quoted him, and she could certainly testify of the wisdom therein.


	4. Chapter 4: Shadows in the Woods

As the days became weeks, the four travelers made great time as they made their way eastward. Fortunately for everyone, it seemed that Anna adapted very quickly to constant travel, as her complaints regarding walking became few and far between, replaced by claims that her feet had indeed grown tougher in response. She had yet to develop the strength necessary to keep walking without taking a break every often or so, however ("Why couldn't we just get _horses_?" she asked more than once).They did find a bit of reprieve in the form of a small pond along their path; despite her claims, Anna quickly shed her shoes to dip her feet in the chill of the water, sighing gratefully. Elsa on the other hand declined, deciding it would be wise to keep her distance. She noticed that the hobbits viewed the pond with a certain degree of dread, staying as far off as it was possible. She could sense a notable difference between Sam and Frodo, however; with Sam, his seemed to her like the kind of dread that a small child who hadn't learned to swim had, but with Frodo, it appeared to be something deeper… She wondered how polite it would be to ask what their reasons were, but chose not to, leaving the question behind when Anna dried her feet off and declared her readiness to move on.

They traveled further on, and late into a cool summer evening at the end of a very long day of walking, the party stopped for a much needed rest deep within the woods; while Sam set to work building a small fire, Elsa stood watch, gazing around the woods for signs of trouble, while Frodo and Anna leaned back against the large branches of the tree nearest to them, sighing with relief yet again. As soon as the fire was properly kindled, sausages and other meats sizzled in a heated frying pan, filling the immediate air with their mouthwatering scents as they cooked. In the meantime, Frodo and Sam puffed smoke through those long pipes of theirs; they offered some 'pipe-weed', as they called it, to the two sisters, but Elsa refrained, sensing something unhealthy about them, as did Anna.

Twiddling her bare toes in the welcome cool of fresh air, Anna sighed and wondered aloud, "Did anyone bring a lute or guitar, or something?"

"I'm afraid not," was Frodo's reply.

"Shame," she sighed, "I could use a good song, right now; if only Kristoff were here..."

"Who's Kristoff?" Sam asked.

"Her boyfriend," Elsa said, "They've been dating for several months now," and then she added with something of a smile, "Though it feels like years."

Anna simply rolled her eyes at her sister's jest. "He's a good singer; give him a lute and he'll come up with a good song like _that_," she said, snapping her fingers. "I just wish I could remember the words to them—actually, now that I think about it, most of it was improvising, but that just means he's REALLY good at composition or..."

"I know a good couple of songs meself," Sam said, "But they're only good for the pub…and I'm afraid I'm not a very good singer."

"Oh, now that can't be true!" Anna protested.

"Yes it is," Sam said sadly and quietly, "If I were, I'd have Rosie's affections a long time ago…"

"Who's Rosie?" Elsa asked.

"Oh! No-nobody important…" Sam stammered.

"Rose Cotton, one of the barmaids at the Green Dragon" Frodo said, "Sam's had eyes for her for a long time, now."

"Mister Frodo!" Sam said, his cheeks turning bright red with embarrassment.

"What's she like?" Anna asked.

"Oh, well, she's…just absolutely wonderful," the blonde hobbit admitted, "But I can't even so much as talk to her; I'm no good for her…"

"Don't put yourself down like that!" Anna told him, "You won't get anywhere talking that way. When we're done and you go home, Mister Gamgee, the first thing I want you to do is to go up to that girl and tell her how you feel about her, and ask her out to dinner, or something. Promise?"

"But what if she—"

"_Promise?_" Anna said more forcefully. Sam turned to Frodo and Elsa with a look of pleading, but all they had to offer were sympathetic shrugs. Elsa for one knew from personal that Anna would refuse to back down until she got results; the hobbit had no chance against her tenacity.

Clearly knowing defeat when he tasted it, Sam sighed, "Promise. But how am I s'posed to tell her?"

"Well, sometimes you just have to let the words out and wear your emotions on your sleeves," Anna said, "Sometimes it'll all come out in a great big song, and the other person will join in—other people might join in too, maybe even the animals—and it'll be all great and wonderful with everyone dancing and singing…and when you're done, you just kind of forget that what happened, no one will talk about it, and everything goes on like normal…like nothing ever happened to begin with…"

The hobbits stared at her in utter confusion and disbelief. Elsa, meanwhile, thought about what Anna just said, and realized that, yes, things like that really did happen in their world…and yet that had never quite happened to her during her first sojourn here. What was up with that?

"Well, anyway, that's how it is in our land; totally normal" Anna said, and then flipped onto her side towards the fire. "But seriously, I could use some music right now…if only there was some way that you could listen to music anywhere and anytime you wanted…like if you had a tiny band of minstrels with you all of the time, and you could carry them in a teeny tiny box that you could fit in your pocket—oh, but you were the only one who could hear it because you had a pair of…"

Before she could go on, a strange, small sound began lilting in through the trees and above the chirping of the insects. The four of them looked around, curious as to what source it came from. Elsa realized it was a chorus singing, almost as if in response to Anna's desires—but who sung it? The voices were all perfectly in tune as they sang a melody that, while heavenly to say the least, was heavily tinged with somberness.

On hearing the song, Frodo sat up from his perch. After a few moments, he smiled.

"Wood elves!" he said.

"_Elves?_" Anna said, sitting upright in a bolt of motion, "Really!?"

"Can we go see them, Mister Frodo?" Sam asked, clearly as excited as Anna was.

"Actually," Elsa started, "I think it would be better if we try to—"

Her three other companions, however, had already taken off, leaving her behind; the hobbits slipped through the forest undergrowth with little difficulty while Anna followed close behind, nearly tripping and falling and getting bits of twigs and leaves caught on her dress as she went. She turned around briefly to wave at Elsa. "Come on!" she called out, "What are you waiting for?"

Elsa could only sigh before running after them.

* * *

><p>The light of day quickly diminished into the faint light of the evening; the resulting darkness only added greater difficulty in avoiding the odd stone or tree root, resulting in one too many trips and stumbles along the way. Elsa did, however, succeed in catching up with Frodo, Sam, and Anna, but only because they ducked behind a fallen log crawling with vines of ivy. She quickly rejoined them, glad for the opportunity to catch her breath—then she looked up, and continued to do so in quiet awe.<p>

Before them stretched a procession of about eleven or so elves dressed in long, flowing robes, traveling either on horseback or on foot while carrying banners and streamers. A soft light shone around their elegant figures, illuminating the trees nearby, while their voices projected their beautiful, yet bittersweet song throughout the forest as they sang in perfect unison. They took no notice of the four who watched from afar.

The sight stirred many memories from the depths of Elsa's mind; she thought back to her days living in the forest cavern, and of how often she had espied these people wandering through her part of the woods…knowing the things she knew now, she smiled at how she once believed them to be angels with pointed ears. Getting out and seeing the rest of the world probably had been indeed a good thing for her.

She looked over to see Anna's eyes alight with wonder, while her jaw hung slightly agape. She started to move forward as if in a trance, but Elsa's quick tug on her skirt pulled her back down, telling her not to do so.

"Where are they going?" Anna asked, "Why do they sound so sad?"

"They're going to the harbor beyond the White Towers," Frodo answered, "To the Grey Havens."

"They're leaving Middle Earth," Sam said, "never to return."

"Why?" Elsa asked, "Why would they do that?"

"I've heard it said that across the Western Sea is a place called the 'Undying Lands'," Frodo said, "A place of great beauty and wonder where they will never fade away."

"I don't know why," Sam noted, "but it makes me sad,"

Anna, meanwhile, leaned over and whispered into Elsa's ear, "You think maybe it has to do with…you-know-who?"

After clearing away the confusion at the statement, Elsa realized what her sister referred to…and it did make sense, after what Gandalf said concerning the Shadow. With this in mind, she watched in a somber reverence as the elves marched away in the woods, their melancholic lament fading away with them. It remained in her thoughts as they returned to camp, ate dinner, and struggled to fall asleep with some 'dirty great root' (as Sam put it) pushing into their backs.

* * *

><p>Dawn came upon them sooner than they were prepared for it, and the heat of the summer sun bore down on the travelers as they pushed their way through a field of tall stalks of corn. Thus far, it proved to be the more difficult part of the journey, with the very ears proving to be a veritable barrier; with Anna following close behind, Elsa felt the temptation to simply freeze the whole field and shatter them to open a path, but no, that would be unfair to whoever owned said field. Besides, she had to take into account the element of stealth, so even then it was out of the question.<p>

The two of them broke out of the vegetable jungle and into a trail cut through the field, with no small amount of gratitude. "Ick!" Anna said as she frantically brushed off insects and bits of plant matter clinging off of her dress, "the sooner we get to Bree, the better."

"What, you don't like the outdoors?" Elsa said.

"No, it's not that," Anna said, "I'm just saying I probably could've picked a better dress to go traveling in; this one's getting filthy!"

"Maybe you should have thought about that before trying to steal a Star Gem."

"Look, Elsa," Anna said, "I'm sorry about that, but I swear, right before I was going to, I decided not to. I didn't mean for…hey, where's Frodo and Sam?"

Elsa whirled around, realizing just then that they had been alone the whole time. How could she have been so foolish? There should have been some other path they could have taken where hobbits were less likely to disappear…

Then her ears detected the now all too familiar clanging of pots and pans further down the path, along with voices. She bolted down the path, with Anna following behind her. Her fears were alleviated when, coming around the bend, they came upon the two hobbits just a short distance away.

"There you are!" she sighed as she and her sister caught up with them, "Don't scare me like that again! I thought we'd lost you!"

"You and Sam, both," Frodo replied.

"Well, let's not let that happen again," Anna said, "My sister can be a bit paranoid, sometimes."

"Huh?" Elsa said.

"Well, you did kinda…that whole _thing_ a while ago…" Anna reminded her vaguely.

"We're still in the Shire," Frodo said, "What could possibly go wrong?"

Suddenly, they heard something rustling through the corn, and before Elsa could do anything, WHAM! Two somethings crashed into Sam and Frodo, throwing them to the ground. Elsa leaped into action, and threw one of them off of Sam, with an arm raised and ready to strike—only to find a young blonde hobbit lying in a pile of cabbages, carrots, and other vegetables, staring up at her with brown eyes and wearing a dark green coat over a bright yellow waistcoat. He looked just as surprised as she was.

"What the—?" she started. She looked over and saw that the other one lying on top of Frodo was also a hobbit, this one noticeably younger than the others, who wore a coat of blue and a scarf around his neck.

"Frodo!" he said in a very thick brogue of an accent, "Look Merry, it's Frodo Baggins! We found him!"

"'Allo, Frodo!" said Merry, "Glad we caught up with you—by the way, who're your lady friends?"

Once he had gotten up on his two feet, Sam threw the other hobbit off of Frodo and helped his master onto his feet, and everyone dusted themselves off. The two new hobbits, in the meantime, started gathering their spilled produce back into the clutches of their arms, even handing some of it to a flustered Sam.

"Are you friends of Frodo?" Anna asked amid the commotion.

"Aye, I'm Peregrin Took, but everybody calls me Pippin," the younger hobbit answered, "Frodo's my second cousin once removed, and over there's Merry Brandybuck, my first cousin."

"What's the meaning of this?" Frodo demanded.

"You've been into Farmer Maggot's crop!" Sam exclaimed, his eyes having grown wide with fear at the sight of the vegetables in his arms.

"Who's Farmer Maggot?" asked Anna.

As if in response to her query, the noise of barking dogs burst out in the distance, along with some very angry shouting and cursing. Above the tassels of the corn, the long, claw-like blade of a scythe could be seen bobbing along towards them, menacingly.

"You need to return this right…" Elsa started to say as she and Anna turned back to the hobbits, only to find a pile of abandoned vegetables at the base of the stalks, the rustling of which betrayed the direction the four had escaped to. Anna glanced at her sister and shrugged before charging after them. Against her better judgment, this forced Elsa to follow close behind so as not to lose track of her wards. Their longer strides allowed them to quickly get the four scampering hobbits back within their sights, though they were surprisingly fast for how small they were.

"Don't know why he's so upset," Merry shouted back, "It's only a couple of carrots!"

"And some cabbages," Pippin added, "And those three bags of potatoes that we left here last week—oh, and those mushrooms the week before!"

"Yes Pippin," said Merry, "My point is, he's clearly overreacting! Run!"

Suddenly, the corn was behind them, and they were all back out in the open. The hobbits kept right on running, until Pippin, who had taken the lead, made a very sudden stop at what Elsa realized was a sheer drop. The other hobbits, failing to see this, all crashed into him and thus tumbled together down the slope. Anna came up close behind them, and teetered over the edge before to Elsa's shock she too toppled over and joined them in their fall. Elsa leaped after them, but instead managed to slide down the disturbed soil and through the forest undergrowth of ferns and such. She hopped over and around obstacles, until at last she found everyone in a dog-pile at the edge of a forest road at the bottom of the slope. Anna had already rolled off by the time Elsa came to her aid, while the others, still sore from their fall, struggled to get up.

"Is everyone alright?" Elsa asked as she helped Anna onto her feet.

"I'm okay," Anna said, dusting her clothes off, "And for the record, that was probably the best thing to happen all day!"

"Ooh, I think I've broken something," Merry groaned from under the pile—but all that had been broken was a thick carrot he pulled out from beneath him. Nevertheless, he still mourned the loss.

Once again the girls helped the hobbits back on to their feet. Immediately, Frodo turned to Merry. "What is the matter with you, Merry?" he asked, "I thought I asked you to watch Bag End for me while I was away!"

"Don't worry, the place is fine," Merry assured him, "The windows are all boarded up and the locks are all secure. Absolutely nothing to worry about!"

"Then why have you and Pippin come?"

"Well, as soon as I read your note," Merry explained, "I knew that you had to be up to something important, and we couldn't just let you go off alone! You need our help in some way on this adventure, so we're coming along!"

Elsa almost bristled at that. These two hobbits had no idea what they were getting into—but then again, neither did she for the most part. Besides, this journey and its goal had been meant to be kept secret. Above all, she didn't want to risk the well-being of any more people than necessary…had it been up to her, she would have been going on this mission alone.

There was only one thing for her to do.

"Look, we sincerely appreciate the concern," she said as gently as possible, "but we can't let you come along."

"Why can't we come?" Merry protested, "We just found a shortcut for you!"

"A shortcut to what?" Sam asked, clearly as nonplussed as Elsa was about the wannabe 'recruits'.

"Mushrooms!" Pippin exclaimed, scrambling to a small cluster of fungus blooming nearby.

Ignoring him, Elsa turned back to Merry. "I'm sorry" she said, "It's too dangerous to come along…you wouldn't understand."

"And who are you to tell us we can't join your party?" Merry questioned, "Who elected you to be the leader, anyway?"

"Well, she _is_ a…" Anna started, but Elsa shot her a warning glance before she could continue with her original thought. "…She's the most experienced one here, so…"

"I think we should get off the road," said Frodo, who had wandered a ways off from the group.

"Who are yeh, anyway?" Merry asked, "I don't recall seeing anyone like you two in the Shire."

"I'm Anna, and this is my sister, Elsa," Anna said, "We're friends of Frodo."

"Well, so are we, and cousins on top of that!" Merry said, "If anyone should be deciding who comes along, it should be Frodo!" He then sidestepped the two sisters, saying, "Frodo, we can come along, right? What do you say?"

But Frodo said nothing. His back turned to the rest of them, he seemed to be staring down the road, but why, none of them knew.

"Frodo?" Elsa asked.

A cold wind whipped up the leaves along the path, accompanied by something like a shriek in the distance…

Suddenly, Frodo came alive again. "Get off the road!" he shouted, "Quick!"

Elsa then remembered Gandalf's words, and quietly cursed herself for having forgotten the advice.

Scrambling to their feet in the confusion, the group made to the other side, carrying as much food as possible, while a strange fog crept in from down the road. Jumping off, they discovered a hollow beneath the thick, tangled and gnarled roots of a tree; here, the hobbits tucked themselves beneath it, but for Anna and Elsa, no room could be found.

All around them, the light began to grow dim, though no cloud hung above them in the sky. Elsa, however, remained stuck where she stood, unsure of what she should do.

"Elsa, go!" said Frodo, "We'll be fine!"

"No, no, I can't leave you!" she whispered, "I can stand guard, fight off whoever it is…"

"Elsa!" Anna's whisper came from behind. She turned to see her younger sister some distance further down the slope, gesturing to a growth of bushes thick enough for the two of them to hide in.

She turned back to the hobbits, still unwilling to move.

"Elsa, go!" Sam urged.

All her instincts, her past experiences, and her heart screamed out for her to stay, to fend off the encroaching enemy and protect the nephew of her friend…and it was only through great effort that she tore herself away to join her sister down below. The two of them crouched down beneath the leaves and laid down flat on their stomachs, their eyes fixed on what would happen far above them.

The hobbits jostled and whispered demands of silence from each other before finally settling in. By that time, the forest became empty of any birdsong and the cries of other animals. The air, meanwhile, grew cold…

"Elsa, are you doing that?" Anna whispered.

Elsa shook her head. As far as she could tell, this was nothing like the kind of cold that she could generate; this had a clammy feel to it…it was more like the cold of death than anything else.

A man dressed in black robes upon a black horse appeared almost out of nowhere, stopping right above the hiding place of the hobbits.

From her hiding place, Elsa couldn't make out much of the figure upon the horse; he sat hunched over like a gargoyle upon his steed, leering around the area. She could see the glint of armor beneath the rider's robes, but no face could be seen in the utter blackness beneath his hood, while the scabbard for a long sword hung by his side. The horse itself was an unseemly sight; the hair of its mane matted together in places and hung like a loose, tattered curtain over its neck, while a deformed tongue lapped over chapped lips nearby discolored skin. Beneath the armor and bridle, a red glimmer shone out from its otherwise dark eyes.

The hobbits, aware of the presence lurking above them, shuffled about nervously in their seats.

The rider, meanwhile, silently peered around at the surroundings, and Elsa could tell that it was searching for something.

Frost began to slowly grow from her hand.

The rider dismounted from his horse and wandered around for a bit. He seemed barely able to stand upon his shaky legs, while his body twitched involuntarily, but still remained the sense that it was searching…

In a dark flash, the black rider rushed over to the uppermost root right above the hobbits and knelt down; his hands clenched upon the wood, the scalloped armor upon them giving the impression of the talons of a bird of prey.

The rider peered around some more. A soft _sniffing_ sound whispered through the air…was he trying to _smell _them out? Below, the hobbits gazed upward in utter terror.

Elsa's heart drummed against her chest. She felt the warmth of Anna's hand upon her arm, but it was no use…she watched helplessly, praying for a miracle to happen.

Then, she saw Frodo's eyes go blank before shutting, as if in a daze…then she saw a flash of gold in his fingers…

_Frodo, no!_

The rider's head jerked to the left, suddenly aware of something.

Her own heart started drumming faster. Snowflakes danced above their hiding place.

Frodo seemed unaware of what happened. The Ring, meanwhile, lay pinched within the fingers of one hand, while the finger of the other lay poised to enter the space within it….

_Frodo, STOP! PLEASE!_

Sam reached across and clasped Frodo's shoulder, shaking him out of the trance and causing him to put away the Ring again.

While the Rider looked the other way, Merry threw a sack of vegetables in the other direction, its invisible landing punctuated by a thud.

A high-pitched shriek escaped undoubtedly from the Rider as he flew from the perch and back onto the saddle of the horse, upon which he galloped away.

They waited for the Rider to disappear from sight. Satisfied and relieved, Elsa stood and waved to the hobbits. They scrambled away from the hollow and followed them further down the hill with a vigor induced only by fear.

They didn't stop for some time, but by the time they did, the sun shone with its regular strength, the birds sang, and the air took on the natural heat of summer—but the effect upon the group still lingered as they clambered down. They collapsed, gasping and hyperventilating upon the ground, desperate to calm their nerves after the shock of the encounter.

"What was that!?" Merry asked.

"I don't know," Anna said, "But I hope we don't run into that guy again…" However, the look in her eyes held the knowledge that perhaps it was far from over.

To Elsa, what the Rider had been looking for was all too clear. She looked over at Frodo, pale with the shock of the encounter; she could see that he clutched something within his hands.

She turned to Merry and Pippin. "You two have to go home, now," she declared, "It's too dangerous to come with us."

"Elsa, no!" Anna said, "It's too dangerous for them to leave us!"

She realized the truth in Anna's words. If that Rider had been searching for them, there could be no question that it was looking for a hobbit…any hobbit, until it found the right one. They had no choice, now.

* * *

><p>Thus it was that they gained two new members of their small party, but as night fell swiftly upon them, rest would have to wait for the travelers some other time. It seemed that Merry's ruse hadn't fooled their pursuer for long, and now the specter of the Black Rider continually haunted the forest, filling the space between the trees with the noise of that hideous shriek and the drumming of his steed's hoof-beats.<p>

Though she remembered Gandalf's instructions not to travel during the dark, Elsa knew they had no choice but to keep moving to safety, so long as the Black Rider remained nearby. Out of all of the hobbits, Merry seemed to be the one most knowledgeable of the pathways through the old forest, and She, Anna, and the hobbits followed his lead through the trees. As the shadows grew stronger, they were forced to duck behind trees and bushes, peering around for a sign of their hunter. When no such sign could be seen, they all scurried forward to the next spot, keeping to the shadows as much as they could; the role of lookout fell primarily upon the hobbits, who, thanks to their shorter stature than the girls, could remain hidden while scanning the area.

At the moment, the duty had fallen upon Frodo, who scurried forward and peered around the forest from behind the thick trunk of a tree.

"Anything?" Sam asked.

"Nothing!" Frodo responded, and everyone moved from their hiding spot forward to his position.

"What is going on?" Pippin asked, his misguided steps betraying exhaustion.

"That Rider was looking for something," Merry said in a surprisingly serious voice as he caught up, "Or someone." He walked right past Elsa, and stared Frodo in the eye. The brown-haired hobbit could only look at him with an eyeful of worry.

"Get down!" Anna suddenly whispered. They all ducked at her word, crouching down behind the sparse shrubbery. Elsa looked straight ahead to where Anna had seen, and framed by the trunks of two trees in the distance, she could see the dark silhouette of the Rider and his horse yet again as the wind blew around them. He paused in the light of the moon before riding over the crest of the hill away from them.

Elsa wondered, how long did this horseman intend to stalk them? There had to be a way to elude him, somehow. Her mind sifted through multiple ways that she could use her powers to escape the Rider; perhaps she could raise a winter fog? No, that would possibly work to his advantage, instead; besides, there was plenty of fog around him, already. Or perhaps she could create snow dummies to bait him off? But how much time would that give them to get away before he caught on to the ruse? Probably not for very long, considering he had the advantage of a horse…

"Well?" Merry asked again.

"I have to leave the Shire," Frodo finally answered, "We must get to Bree."

"Why?"

"We need to get to Gandalf," Anna replied, "He said he'd meet us there."

"Right," Merry whispered, and Elsa found, much to her surprise, a glimmer of understanding, and something of calculation going on behind the hobbit's eyes. "…Bucklebury Ferry's not too far off from here. That'll get us to Bree fast enough."

"How do you know that?" asked Anna.

"My family's got a knack for the waterways," was Merry's brief reply, "Now follow me."

Conceding to the possibility of Merry knowing what he was talking about after all, the group shuffled away from the tree and trailed behind Merry onto a new path as fast as they could.

As if out of nowhere, the Black Rider suddenly strode right in front of them, that terrible shriek piercing the night. While the other hobbits managed to duck around the horse, the Rider did not seem to care; his focus, clearly, was upon Frodo, as he directed his horse to stand specifically in front of him.

Instinct took over as Elsa jumped to the fore between Frodo and the Rider. Caring not for the consequences, she swept her hand, and an arching wall of ice leaped up between them and the Black Rider in a semicircle, trapping him and his steed. With their pursuer occupied, the group bolted away through the underbrush, with Merry shouting to keep them all in line with the sound of his voice.

As they ran, Elsa heard the crash of ice being smashed by thick hooves. But still, she and Anna kept on running, overtaking the hobbits in their flight.

Breaking out of the trees, they entered open space and hopped a fence towards the banks of a river where there stood a small, thatched-roof cottage with a plume of smoke billowing out of the chimney. A single pair of glowing lamps and the light of the moon against the water revealed the presence of a dock, along with a single raft tied to the post.

They all sprinted across the dock and onto the raft, where Merry ordered Sam to start untying the ropes. Elsa took a moment to take a head count; she found Anna, Sam, Merry, Pippin…but where was Frodo?

Her answer came running along the path to catch up; somehow, Frodo had fallen clear behind. She couldn't believe that she had forgotten to make sure he had been with them the whole time!

"Wait!" she told Sam, "Wait up!"

Right behind him, the Black Rider came charging down the path after him.

Everyone called out after him, begging him to run as fast as he could. In spite of Elsa's own pleading, the raft split off from the dock, a gap of water growing wider between them.

"Run, Frodo!" she and Anna shouted.

His feet struck against the wood of the docks.

The gap opened up too wide between them. Elsa felt the need to freeze the water between them…

But the rider was gaining upon the hobbit. Barely a few feet separated him from the horse.

They had no other option.

"JUMP, FRODO!" she shouted.

And Frodo did, leaping across the water, and landing into Elsa's arms upon the raft.

The Rider, meanwhile, pulled the reins and brought the horse to a complete stop, just inches away from the edge of the dock.

As Merry used a staff to push them away, the Rider seemed to grow smaller with the distance. Knowing that they were safe, everyone breathed a little easier. Anna, however, had the audacity to say, "Ha ha!" in defiance.

A deafening shriek from the Rider frightened her back into submission, however, and they watched as the Rider turned around and galloped back towards the main road.

"How far to the nearest crossing?" asked Frodo.

"The Brandywine Bridge," Merry answered, "Twenty miles."

Anna, meanwhile, shuffled over to Elsa and whispered, "What's up with all the guys in black robes trying to kill us?"

Elsa could only shrug. She felt certain that these weren't connected to the Phantom from earlier…they had been looking for Frodo, after all.

If their hearts hadn't been chilled by the one horseman, they certainly became so, for across the river, they watched as two more riders, identical in their garb and color of horse, galloped past while their original pursuer rode to join them.


End file.
